Garvin County, Oklahoma

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 40049 · population 25,643 · 802 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 1,024 records for Garvin County, Oklahoma from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 641 days; the most frequent are hail reports (401 records). The deadliest single record is the April 19, 1972 tornado: 5 deaths and 3 injuries. FEMA has issued 33 declarations naming the county since 1970, 31 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding” on March 18, 2025.

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
1,024on 641 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
1128 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$131Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
69strongest EF4
FEMA declarations
33latest 2025

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 Garvin County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 401 since 1955. 55% 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.

Garvin County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Hail 401 222 1955-2026 0 0 $121K 30 of 77
Severe thunderstorm wind 248 167 1955-2026 0 0 $6.5M 35 of 77
Heat 86 86 1996-2025 2 0 – 21 of 77
Drought 83 82 2000-2026 0 0 $14M 40 of 77
Tornadoes 69 56 1953-2026 6 24 $78M 19 of 77
Winter storms 51 51 1996-2026 3 3 $27M 35 of 77
Floods 46 28 1998-2026 0 0 $347K 36 of 77
Extreme cold 11 11 1996-2025 0 0 – 23 of 77
High wind and dust storms 10 10 1996-2023 0 0 $5K 54 of 77
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 10 10 1998-2007 0 1 $36K 13 of 77
Lightning 5 5 1997-2010 0 0 $4.4M 20 of 77
Wildfires 4 4 2000-2017 0 0 $776K 43 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 Garvin County had?

NOAA records 69 tornadoes in Garvin County from 1953 to 2026, the strongest rated EF4, with 6 deaths and 24 injuries recorded in the county. That is 19th of 77 Oklahoma counties and 188th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 68 tornadoes whose track touched Garvin County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 69: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 6 people.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Garvin County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1972-04-19 17:00, as SPC files itUnnamedF428.2 mi5
2016-05-09 15:06, as SPC files itKatieEF48.9 mi1
1990-03-13 18:58, as SPC files itTatumsF322 mi0
1961-02-17 18:15, as SPC files itWewoka to HenryettaF373 mi0
1960-05-05 14:45, as SPC files itMaysvilleF37.3 mi0
1953-06-05 21:15, as SPC files itSulphurF316.9 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Oklahoma.

Every tornado record filed for Garvin County (69)
The 60 most recent of 69 tornadoes in Garvin County
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-04-25 Wynnewood, Garvin County EFU 0.5 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2026-04-25 Pauls Valley, Garvin County EFU 0.5 mi x 200 yd 0 0 –
2026-04-25 Pauls Valley, Garvin County EF0 0.3 mi x 40 yd 0 0 –
2025-06-03 Hennepin, Garvin County EF1 2.4 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $10K
2025-05-17 Whitebead, Garvin County EF1 1.82 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $5K
2024-11-03 Foster, Garvin County EFU 0.6 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2024-11-03 Antioch, Garvin County EF1 2.5 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $47K
2024-11-03 Antioch, Garvin County EF1 0.79 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $9K
2023-10-25 Wynnewood, Garvin County EF0 0.3 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2022-12-13 Hennepin, Garvin County EF1 4.2 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $5K
2022-04-24 Pauls Valley, Garvin County EF0 0.3 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $30K
2021-04-27 Pauls Valley, Garvin County EF1 4.5 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $33K
2020-04-22 Pauls Valley, Garvin County EF1 2.2 mi x 600 yd 0 0 $228K
2018-10-07 Wynnewood, Garvin County EF0 0.35 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2016-05-09 Hennepin, Garvin County EF4 8.9 mi x 400 yd 1 0 $1.2M
2015-05-23 Maysville, Garvin County EF1 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2015-05-23 Stratford, Garvin County EF0 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2013-05-30 Pernell, Garvin County EF0 0.41 mi x 200 yd 0 0 –
2011-04-22 Stratford, Garvin County EF0 0.4 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2010-05-19 Hennepin, Garvin County EF0 5.5 mi x 375 yd 0 0 –
2009-04-29 Stratford, Garvin County EF1 5.5 mi x 40 yd 0 0 –
2008-05-07 Paoli, Garvin County EF1 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 1 $69K
1997-05-25 Stratford, Garvin County F0 0.1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
1997-05-25 Maysville, Garvin County F0 0.1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
1995-05-07 Stratford, Garvin County F1 6 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $97K
1992-05-11 Garvin County F0 2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $3K step
1991-05-04 Garvin County F0 0.3 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
1990-03-13 Garvin County F2 28 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1990-03-13 Garvin County F3 1 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1986-05-16 Garvin County F1 0.5 mi x 73 yd 0 0 $250K step
1986-05-14 Garvin County F1 0.5 mi x 23 yd 0 0 –
1984-09-08 Garvin County F0 0.1 mi x 3 yd 0 0 –
1984-05-02 Garvin County F2 4.5 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $250K step
1984-05-02 Garvin County F2 2.5 mi x 77 yd 0 0 $250K step
1983-06-28 Garvin County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $30 step
1981-05-23 Garvin County F1 2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
1977-05-20 Garvin County F1 2.7 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $25K step
1977-05-19 Garvin County F1 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1977-05-19 Garvin County F2 3.3 mi x 100 yd 0 1 $25K step
1977-05-19 Garvin County F1 0 0 $3K step
1977-05-15 Garvin County F0 1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
1977-05-15 Garvin County F0 1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $30 step
1976-02-20 Garvin County F0 3.8 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $3K step
1975-02-22 Garvin County F2 3.3 mi x 60 yd 0 14 $2.5M step
1973-06-04 Garvin County F1 0.2 mi x 17 yd 0 0 $3K step
1973-04-19 Garvin County F2 16.8 mi x 250 yd 0 2 $2.5M step
1972-05-28 Garvin County F0 0.1 mi x 27 yd 0 0 –
1972-04-19 Garvin County F4 10.1 mi x 33 yd 5 3 $25K step
1968-05-13 Garvin County F1 2.5 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $25K step
1968-05-13 Garvin County F1 1 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $25K step
1965-04-14 Garvin County F1 0.1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250 step
1964-08-26 Garvin County F2 0.1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $3K step
1961-07-02 Garvin County F1 0.8 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1961-03-05 Garvin County F2 1 mi x 100 yd 0 1 $250K step
1961-02-17 Garvin County F3 2 mi x 300 yd 0 1 $2.5M step
1960-05-18 Garvin County F1 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $3K step
1960-05-05 Garvin County F2 5.9 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $25K step
1960-05-05 Garvin County F3 7.3 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $25K step
1959-02-09 Garvin County F1 0 0 $250 step
1958-11-17 Garvin County F2 8.8 mi x 500 yd 0 0 $30 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.

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 Garvin County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 17, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($5,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Garvin County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-23 Flash FloodPauls Valley, Garvin County 0 0 –
2026-04-28 HailStratford, Garvin County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-25 HailElmore City, Garvin County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-25 HailElmore City, Garvin County 0.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-25 HailFoster, Garvin County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-25 TornadoWynnewood, Garvin County EFU 0.5 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2026-04-25 TornadoPauls Valley, Garvin County EFU 0.5 mi x 200 yd 0 0 –
2026-04-25 TornadoPauls Valley, Garvin County EF0 0.3 mi x 40 yd 0 0 –
2026-04-24 HailElmore City, Garvin County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-24 HailAntioch, Garvin County 1.25 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-24 HailAntioch, Garvin County 1.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-17 Thunderstorm WindMaysville, Garvin County 52 kt wind 0 0 $5K

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 Garvin County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1972-04-19 TornadoGarvin County F4 10.1 mi x 33 yd 5 3 $25K step
2008-01-03 Winter WeatherGarvin County · forecast zone Garvin A light coating of ice caused an accident near Wildhorse Creek Bridge. Three injuries were reported, as well as two fatalities. Monetary damages were estimated. 2 3 $21K
2006-07-16 HeatGarvin County · forecast zone Garvin 2 0 –
2016-05-09 TornadoHennepin, Garvin County A tornado developed 1.25 miles south of the community of Katie, OK, or about 3.4 miles north of Hennepin. The tornado was observed to be very dynamic as it moved east-northeast and east. Initially damage was confined to trees until the tornado crossed county road 1690 where a home was destroyed where only interior ... EF4 8.9 mi x 400 yd 1 0 $1.2M
2009-12-24 BlizzardGarvin County · forecast zone Garvin Five to eight inches of snow accumulated across the county, including six inches near Pauls Valley and Hennepin, and eight inches in Lindsay. Frequent wind gusts of 50 to 60+ mph created considerable blowing and drifting snow, and greatly reduced visibilities. Approximately 1200-1400 miles of roadway were damaged by ... 1 0 $2.9M
1975-02-22 TornadoGarvin County F2 3.3 mi x 60 yd 0 14 $2.5M step
1973-04-19 TornadoGarvin County F2 16.8 mi x 250 yd 0 2 $2.5M step
2008-05-07 TornadoPaoli, Garvin County A tornado briefly touched down five miles east-southeast of Paoli. At this location, a mobile home was moved off of its foundation, causing damage to the home. A few trees were also damaged near the residence. One person received minor injuries as a result of being inside of the mobile home. No other damage was ... EF1 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 1 $69K

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 Garvin County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2000-12-26 Ice StormGarvin County · forecast zone Garvin 0 0 $24M
1998-03-18 Thunderstorm WindPauls Valley, Garvin County 0 0 $4.5M
2007-04-27 LightningWynnewood, Garvin County 0 0 $4.3M
2009-12-24 BlizzardGarvin County · forecast zone Garvin 1 0 $2.9M
2016-05-09 TornadoHennepin, Garvin County EF4 8.9 mi x 400 yd 1 0 $1.2M
2005-11-27 WildfireGarvin County · forecast zone Garvin 0 0 $604K
2020-04-22 TornadoPauls Valley, Garvin County EF1 2.2 mi x 600 yd 0 0 $228K
2024-11-03 Thunderstorm WindWhitebead, Garvin County 87 kt wind 0 0 $188K

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: February 22, 1975 (tornado, Garvin County); April 19, 1973 (tornado, Garvin County); February 17, 1961 (tornado, Garvin 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 Garvin 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).

Garvin County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Hail517166095757657
Severe thunderstorm wind215202949534634
Heat––––13082
Drought––––0173828
Tornadoes111012772713
Winter storms––––917178

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

What time of year?

55% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in April and May. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 40 · Feb 56 · Mar 97 · Apr 168 · May 215 · Jun 138 · Jul 99 · Aug 80 · Sep 42 · Oct 27 · Nov 34 · Dec 28 (records).

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

Federal disaster declarations for Garvin County

FEMA's register lists 33 declarations that include Garvin County: 23 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (15) and severe ice storm (8).

Declarations including Garvin County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2025-03-18DR-4862Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2021-02-24DR-4587Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2021-02-17EM-3555Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2020-04-05DR-4530BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3462BiologicalCovid-19
2016-07-15DR-4274FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
2015-05-26DR-4222Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2011-02-02EM-3316Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2010-05-24DR-1917Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds
2010-03-05DR-1883Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2010-02-25DR-1876Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2010-01-30EM-3308Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2007-12-10EM-3280Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2007-08-31DR-1723Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2007-08-24DR-1718Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
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
2006-01-19FM-2627FirePaoli Fire
2006-01-10DR-1623FireExtreme Wildfire Threat
2005-11-30FM-2589FireAntioch Fire
2005-09-05EM-3219HurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
2003-05-10DR-1465Severe StormSevere Storms and Tornadoes
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
2000-12-28EM-3158Severe Ice StormSevere Winter and Ice Storm
1990-05-18DR-866Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding
1987-07-09DR-794FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1983-10-26DR-693FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1973-12-10DR-409FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1973-06-13DR-392Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, & Tornadoes
1970-10-14DR-297Severe StormHeavy Rains, Tornadoes & Flooding

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 Garvin County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 46 flood or flash flood records for Garvin County from 1998 to 2026, on 28 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Garvin County ranks 1522nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.4 million on 65 claims filed in Garvin County; the most in one year was 17 in 1987. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1979: 3 · 1980: 5 · 1983: 6 · 1987: 17 · 1990: 3 · 1998: 2 · 2002: 1 · 2005: 1 · 2007: 1 · 2008: 1 · 2009: 2 · 2015: 6 · 2016: 6 · 2017: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2025: 1; 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 Garvin County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Garvin County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $19.9 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 Garvin County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
Ice StormRelatively High$747K1.6 a year (modeled)
DroughtRelatively Moderate$1.3M40 modeled event-days a year
HailRelatively Moderate$1.4M11 a year (modeled)
TornadoRelatively Moderate$4.7Mabout once a year (modeled)
Strong WindRelatively Moderate$1.3M5 a year (modeled)
LightningRelatively Moderate$295K53 a year (modeled)
WildfireRelatively Low$810Konce in about 170 years (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively Low$1.2M19 modeled event-days a year

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

Counties that share a border with Garvin County

  1. Grady County 1,546
  2. Stephens County 1,341
  3. Carter County 1,166
  4. McClain County 1,047
  5. Pontotoc County 1,043
  6. Garvin County 1,024
  7. Murray County 711

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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