Garfield County, Oklahoma

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 40047 · population 62,826 · 1,059 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 1,574 records for Garfield County, Oklahoma from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 815 days; the most frequent are hail reports (625 records). The deadliest single record is the March 14, 2025 dust storm, filed for the forecast zone Garfield, which covers the county: 1 death and 2 injuries. FEMA has issued 25 declarations naming the county since 1973, 23 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storms” on February 24, 2021.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
1,574on 815 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
529 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$128Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
80strongest EF4
FEMA declarations
25latest 2021

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Garfield County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 625 since 1955. 52% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in April and May. The rank column places the county among Oklahoma's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Garfield County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Hail 625 300 1955-2026 0 0 $173K 27 of 77
Severe thunderstorm wind 481 274 1955-2026 0 3 $18M 22 of 77
Drought 107 107 2000-2026 0 0 $14M 41 of 77
Tornadoes 80 54 1955-2026 0 23 $50M 45 of 77
Winter storms 79 77 1996-2026 4 1 $41M 20 of 77
Heat 71 71 2001-2026 0 0 – 47 of 77
Floods 50 33 1997-2026 0 0 $2.1M 44 of 77
High wind and dust storms 35 28 1996-2025 1 2 $522K 25 of 77
Lightning 20 20 1996-2019 0 0 $975K 5 of 77
Extreme cold 14 14 1996-2025 0 0 – 26 of 77
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 6 5 2001-2007 0 0 – 39 of 77
Heavy rain 4 4 2007-2009 0 0 – 5 of 77
Wildfires 2 2 2023-2024 0 0 $68K 64 of 77

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Garfield County had?

NOAA records 80 tornadoes in Garfield County from 1955 to 2026, the strongest rated EF4, with 0 deaths and 23 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 78 tornadoes whose track touched Garfield County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 80: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 0 of them in Garfield County.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Garfield County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1979-05-02 16:15, as SPC files itLahomaF420.6 mi1
1991-04-26 17:30, as SPC files itGarberF466 mi0
1991-04-26 17:00, as SPC files itEnidF36 mi0
1991-04-12 15:37, as SPC files itKremlinF39 mi0
1979-05-02 17:45, as SPC files itMarshallF38.4 mi0
1958-11-17 08:08, as SPC files itBlackwellF339.2 mi0
1956-04-08 22:15, as SPC files itEnidF37.3 mi0
1956-04-08 22:15, as SPC files itDouglasF37.7 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Oklahoma.

Every tornado record filed for Garfield County (80)
The 60 most recent of 80 tornadoes in Garfield County
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-04-23 Vance Afb Enid, Garfield County EF4 9.5 mi x 600 yd 0 1 –
2025-07-12 Vance Afb Enid, Garfield County EF0 0.2 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2024-05-06 Douglas, Garfield County EF1 6.26 mi x 300 yd 0 0 –
2024-05-06 Bison, Garfield County EF0 0.2 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $5K
2024-05-06 Bison, Garfield County EF0 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2024-04-27 Hillsdale, Garfield County EF1 0.8 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $5K
2019-05-20 Hayward, Garfield County EF0 2.5 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2016-05-25 Carrier, Garfield County EF2 5 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $25K
2015-05-06 Carrier, Garfield County EF0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2009-04-26 Kremlin, Garfield County EF1 1.5 mi x 500 yd 0 0 –
2009-04-25 Carrier, Garfield County EF1 6 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2009-04-25 Kremlin, Garfield County EF2 1.25 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2009-04-25 North Enid, Garfield County EF2 1.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
2008-05-24 Hayward, Garfield County EF0 1.3 mi x 1,100 yd 0 0 –
2008-05-24 Hayward, Garfield County EF1 1 mi x 80 yd 0 0 –
2008-05-24 Douglas, Garfield County EF0 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $27K
2008-05-24 Bison, Garfield County EF0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $14K
2008-05-24 Douglas, Garfield County EF2 10 mi x 1,600 yd 0 0 –
2008-05-24 Bison, Garfield County EF0 2 mi x 15 yd 0 0 $7K
2007-03-29 Hillsdale, Garfield County EF0 2 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $21K
2002-04-11 Hunter, Garfield County F0 1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
2000-05-25 Waukomis, Garfield County F0 0.5 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $857
1999-05-03 Covington, Garfield County F2 3 mi x 440 yd 0 0 $44K
1999-04-21 Carrier, Garfield County F2 8.5 mi x 500 yd 0 0 $2.7M
1999-04-21 Vance Afb, Garfield County F0 0.1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $886
1999-04-05 Carrier, Garfield County F0 0.1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
1998-09-21 Waukomis, Garfield County F1 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $63K
1995-06-05 Near Waukomis, Garfield County F0 0.1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
1995-06-05 Drummond, Garfield County F0 0.1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
1992-06-18 Garfield County F0 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1991-04-26 Garfield County F4 6 mi x 1,500 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1991-04-26 Garfield County F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
1991-04-26 Garfield County F3 6 mi x 350 yd 0 0 $250K step
1991-04-12 Garfield County F3 6.8 mi x 800 yd 0 0 $250K step
1991-04-12 Garfield County F0 2.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1991-04-12 Garfield County F2 6 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $25K step
1991-04-12 Garfield County F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
1985-06-03 Garfield County F1 0.2 mi x 3 yd 0 0 $250K step
1984-04-20 Garfield County F0 0.1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $30 step
1983-05-12 Garfield County F0 0.1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $30 step
1981-11-03 Garfield County F0 0 0 –
1981-08-15 Garfield County F0 0 0 –
1981-05-17 Garfield County F1 1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $30 step
1979-05-02 Garfield County F3 8.4 mi x 120 yd 0 0 $250K step
1979-05-02 Garfield County F4 6.9 mi x 880 yd 0 10 $250K step
1977-08-23 Garfield County F1 1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $25K step
1977-05-20 Garfield County F1 4.1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1974-06-08 Garfield County F1 0.2 mi x 23 yd 0 0 $25K step
1973-10-10 Garfield County F1 0.1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $3K step
1973-04-30 Garfield County F1 1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $3K step
1970-04-26 Garfield County F0 3.6 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $250K step
1969-06-11 Garfield County F0 0 0 –
1969-04-16 Garfield County F1 2 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $25K step
1967-06-10 Garfield County F0 0 0 –
1966-09-04 Garfield County F0 0 0 –
1966-06-05 Garfield County F1 5.7 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250 step
1966-06-05 Garfield County F0 3.8 mi x 67 yd 0 0 $25K step
1966-06-05 Garfield County F2 0 6 $250K step
1966-06-05 Garfield County F0 4.3 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
1965-05-18 Garfield County F0 0 0 –

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Garfield County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 26, 2026 flash flood ($25,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Garfield County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-26 Flash FloodGarber, Garfield County 0 0 $25K
2026-06-26 Thunderstorm WindGarber, Garfield County 65 kt wind 0 0 $10K
2026-06-26 Thunderstorm WindGarber, Garfield County 65 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-26 Thunderstorm WindFairmont, Garfield County 65 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-26 HailGarber, Garfield County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-26 Thunderstorm WindBreckinridge, Garfield County 61 kt wind 0 0 $50K
2026-06-26 HailFairmont, Garfield County 0.88 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-26 Thunderstorm WindBreckinridge, Garfield County 61 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-26 Thunderstorm WindBreckinridge, Garfield County 56 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-26 Thunderstorm WindBreckinridge, Garfield County 83 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-26 Thunderstorm WindFairmont, Garfield County 76 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-21 Thunderstorm WindWoodring Airport, Garfield County 52 kt wind 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Garfield County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-03-14 Dust StormGarfield County · forecast zone Garfield Near-zero visibility due to blowing dust was reported to have contributed to a fatal multi-vehicle accident along U.S. Highway 412 between Enid and State Highway 74. 1 2 –
2009-03-27 BlizzardGarfield County · forecast zone Garfield Snowfall accumulated 4 inches four miles west of Hillsdale. Enid reported almost three inches of snow, but also reported sleet and at least a quarter of an inch of ice accumulation. Numerous wind gusts over 40 mph were common for several hours, causing blowing and drifting snow. The wind and precipitation caused ... 1 1 $14K
2020-10-26 Ice StormGarfield County · forecast zone Garfield Ice accreted 0.75 - 1.00 across the county. An 80 year old woman's death was attributed to the ice storm in Enid according to the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, however, the exact details of her death were not released. Partial damage estimates reached $1,610,000. 1 0 –
2010-03-20 Winter StormGarfield County · forecast zone Garfield Three to four inches of snow accumulated across the county. Numerous wind gusts of 35 to 40 mph reduced visibilities well below one mile at times. Several accidents occurred due to the poor road conditions. Unfortunately, one accident claimed the life of a child traveling on I-35 near mile marker 150. 1 0 –
2007-01-12 Winter StormGarfield County · forecast zone Garfield A strong winter storm crippled much of Oklahoma from January 12th through the 14th, spreading snow, freezing rain and sleet across the state. The snow and sleet was confined to northern and western Oklahoma. The freezing rain and sleet occurred mainly over central and southwest Oklahoma, with mainly freezing rain over ... 1 0 $7K
1979-05-02 TornadoGarfield County F4 6.9 mi x 880 yd 0 10 $250K step
1966-06-05 TornadoGarfield County F2 0 6 $250K step
1956-04-08 TornadoGarfield County F3 7.3 mi x 400 yd 0 4 $2.5M step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

The costliest records in Garfield County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2002-01-30 Ice StormGarfield County · forecast zone Garfield 0 0 $41M
1994-08-17 Thunderstorm WindLahoma, Garfield County 0 3 $10.0M
2007-06-01 Thunderstorm WindEnid, Garfield County 61 kt wind 0 0 $2.8M
1999-04-21 TornadoCarrier, Garfield County F2 8.5 mi x 500 yd 0 0 $2.7M
1997-07-19 Flash FloodCountywide, Garfield County 0 0 $1.8M
1993-08-30 Thunderstorm WindEnid, Garfield County 0 0 $1.0M
1994-04-02 Thunderstorm WindDouglas, Garfield County 0 0 $995K
2011-06-09 High WindGarfield County · forecast zone Garfield 57 kt wind 0 0 $492K

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 8, 1956 (tornado, Garfield County); April 26, 1991 (tornado, Garfield County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Garfield County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Garfield County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Hail520267818214110073
Severe thunderstorm wind8102951989411279
Drought––––0175040
Tornadoes82186151336
Winter storms––––1135249
Heat––––03068

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

52% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in April and May. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 52 · Feb 45 · Mar 78 · Apr 221 · May 348 · Jun 261 · Jul 189 · Aug 167 · Sep 107 · Oct 44 · Nov 29 · Dec 33 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Garfield County

FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Garfield County: 18 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) and severe ice storm (8).

Declarations including Garfield County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2021-02-24DR-4587Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2021-02-17EM-3555Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2020-12-21DR-4575Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2020-04-05DR-4530BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3462BiologicalCovid-19
2019-06-01DR-4438Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2015-12-29DR-4247Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms and Flooding
2013-04-08DR-4109Severe StormSevere Winter Storm and Snowstorm
2011-02-02EM-3316Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2010-01-30EM-3308Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2008-10-09DR-1803Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2008-07-09DR-1775Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2007-12-10EM-3280Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2007-07-07DR-1712Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2007-02-01DR-1678Severe StormSevere Winter Storms
2007-01-14EM-3272Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms and Flooding
2006-01-10DR-1623FireExtreme Wildfire Threat
2005-09-05EM-3219HurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
2002-02-01DR-1401Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Ice Storm
2001-06-29DR-1384Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2001-01-05DR-1355Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Ice Storm
1991-05-08DR-905TornadoSevere Storms & Tornadoes
1986-10-14DR-778FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1973-10-13DR-404FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1973-06-13DR-392Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, & Tornadoes

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Garfield County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 50 flood or flash flood records for Garfield County from 1997 to 2026, on 33 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Garfield County ranks 1411th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $422,000 on 81 claims filed in Garfield County; the most in one year was 27 in 1986. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1980: 4 · 1981: 1 · 1982: 1 · 1983: 2 · 1985: 1 · 1986: 27 · 1987: 4 · 1988: 1 · 1992: 12 · 1993: 1 · 1995: 1 · 1997: 1 · 1999: 1 · 2004: 1 · 2007: 2 · 2008: 6 · 2009: 1 · 2010: 2 · 2011: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2020: 3; the other years: 0.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Garfield County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Garfield County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $43.1 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Garfield County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
Ice StormVery High$1.9Mabout once a year (modeled)
Cold WaveRelatively High$15M2.7 a year (modeled)
TornadoRelatively High$7.9M1 a year (modeled)
HailRelatively Moderate$2.1M9.1 a year (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively Moderate$2.1M18 modeled event-days a year
DroughtRelatively Moderate$1.2M65 modeled event-days a year
Strong WindRelatively Moderate$1.1M5.4 a year (modeled)
Winter WeatherRelatively Moderate$148K9.3 a year (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Garfield County

  1. Kay County 1,627
  2. Garfield County 1,574
  3. Logan County 1,116
  4. Kingfisher County 1,088
  5. Grant County 960
  6. Alfalfa County 943
  7. Major County 890
  8. Noble County 785

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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