Sequoyah County, Oklahoma

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 40135 · population 39,237 · 674 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 860 records for Sequoyah County, Oklahoma from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 549 days; the most frequent are hail reports (302 records). The deadliest single record is the January 22, 1957 tornado: 10 deaths and 20 injuries. FEMA has issued 31 declarations naming the county since 1972, 29 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
860on 549 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
2062 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$49Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
60strongest F4
FEMA declarations
31latest 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 Sequoyah County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 302 since 1956. 51% of its hail reports since 1956 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.

Sequoyah County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Hail 302 180 1956-2026 0 0 $893K 33 of 77
Severe thunderstorm wind 265 198 1956-2026 0 16 $3.2M 11 of 77
Floods 82 57 1996-2025 2 0 $2.6M 12 of 77
Tornadoes 60 47 1955-2025 17 43 $41M 20 of 77
Heat 54 54 1998-2025 0 0 – 41 of 77
Drought 46 46 2005-2026 0 0 – 65 of 77
Winter storms 34 34 1996-2026 0 0 $636K 56 of 77
Wildfires 8 8 2005-2026 0 0 $73K 22 of 77
High wind and dust storms 6 6 1998-2008 0 0 $43K 65 of 77
Lightning 3 3 1999-2005 1 3 $16K 32 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 Sequoyah County had?

NOAA records 60 tornadoes in Sequoyah County from 1955 to 2025, the strongest rated F4, with 17 deaths and 43 injuries recorded in the county. That is 20th of 77 Oklahoma counties and 189th 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 61 tornadoes whose track touched Sequoyah County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 60: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 35 people, 17 of them in Sequoyah County.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Sequoyah County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1960-05-05 19:10, as SPC files itSallisawF462.4 mi16
1957-01-22 06:45, as SPC files itGansF40.1 mi10
1960-05-05 19:40, as SPC files itRolandF45.4 mi5
1996-04-21 22:12, as SPC files itFort SmithCrossed AR, OKF310.1 mi2
1960-05-05 19:30, as SPC files itMoffettF34.5 mi1
1960-05-05 21:30, as SPC files itBokosheF323.7 mi1
1999-05-04 11:54, as SPC files itFarmingtonCrossed AR, OKF338.2 mi0
1973-05-26 16:40, as SPC files itMarbleF318.7 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Oklahoma.

Every tornado record filed for Sequoyah County (60)
Every tornado recorded in Sequoyah County, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-06-06 Liberty, Sequoyah County EF1 3.6 mi x 900 yd 0 0 $20K
2025-06-06 Sallisaw, Sequoyah County EF1 4 mi x 650 yd 0 0 $20K
2025-06-06 Mc Key, Sequoyah County EF1 3 mi x 650 yd 0 0 –
2025-06-06 Vian, Sequoyah County EF1 7.6 mi x 1,100 yd 0 0 $30K
2025-05-19 Gore, Sequoyah County EF1 5.2 mi x 750 yd 0 0 $35K
2025-04-30 Akins, Sequoyah County EF0 0.3 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $5K
2024-11-04 Blackgum, Sequoyah County EFU 0.2 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2023-01-02 Mitch, Sequoyah County EFU 2.5 mi x 200 yd 0 0 –
2021-10-10 Gore, Sequoyah County EF1 2.8 mi x 900 yd 0 0 $16K
2021-05-03 Muldrow, Sequoyah County EF1 8.5 mi x 900 yd 0 0 $109K
2021-05-03 Paw Paw, Sequoyah County EF1 6.9 mi x 1,200 yd 0 0 $33K
2020-05-25 Blackgum, Sequoyah County EF0 0.5 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $114K
2018-11-30 Blackgum, Sequoyah County EF1 2.4 mi x 900 yd 0 0 $176K
2018-11-30 Gore, Sequoyah County EF1 5.3 mi x 400 yd 0 0 $6K
2017-05-27 Short, Sequoyah County EF1 1.6 mi x 625 yd 0 0 –
2017-04-29 Sallisaw Airport, Sequoyah County EF1 7.3 mi x 600 yd 0 0 $24K
2016-04-26 Foreman, Sequoyah County EF1 4.3 mi x 500 yd 0 0 $31K
2015-05-29 Gore, Sequoyah County EF0 1.5 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K
2013-03-30 Sallisaw Airport, Sequoyah County EF1 0.5 mi x 175 yd 0 0 $127K
2013-01-29 Short, Sequoyah County EF1 2.4 mi x 400 yd 0 0 –
2012-03-19 Vian, Sequoyah County EF0 0.1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2011-05-24 Greenwood Jct, Sequoyah County EF1 1.2 mi x 500 yd 0 0 –
2011-04-26 Moffett, Sequoyah County EF0 0.1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2010-05-10 Marble City, Sequoyah County EF1 4 mi x 500 yd 0 0 $7K
2010-05-10 Gore, Sequoyah County EF1 8.9 mi x 1,250 yd 0 0 $203K
2008-04-10 Vian, Sequoyah County EF0 2 mi x 150 yd 0 0 –
2005-04-05 Sallisaw, Sequoyah County F1 2.5 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $23K
2004-03-04 Muldrow, Sequoyah County F0 1.7 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $31K
2003-05-01 Gore, Sequoyah County F0 0.2 mi x 40 yd 0 0 –
2003-05-01 Gore, Sequoyah County F0 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
1999-05-11 Blackgum, Sequoyah County F0 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $2K
1999-05-04 Short, Sequoyah County F3 6.5 mi x 175 yd 0 0 $12K
1999-05-04 Hanson, Sequoyah County F1 2 mi x 80 yd 0 0 $159K
1996-04-21 Moffett, Sequoyah County F1 0.1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
1986-05-17 Sequoyah County F1 2 mi x 123 yd 0 0 $250K step
1984-10-18 Sequoyah County F0 0.1 mi x 3 yd 0 0 –
1984-10-16 Sequoyah County F2 0.1 mi x 3 yd 0 0 $25K step
1984-03-15 Sequoyah County F1 1 mi x 77 yd 0 0 $250K step
1982-05-28 Sequoyah County F2 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $250K step
1976-02-20 Sequoyah County F2 4.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $25K step
1973-05-26 Sequoyah County F3 18.7 mi x 250 yd 0 6 $250K step
1971-05-06 Sequoyah County F1 0 0 $3K step
1968-05-25 Sequoyah County F2 2 mi x 33 yd 0 1 $25K step
1965-06-22 Sequoyah County F2 1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $25K step
1960-05-19 Sequoyah County 0 0 –
1960-05-05 Sequoyah County F3 8 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250K step
1960-05-05 Sequoyah County F3 3.6 mi x 33 yd 1 0 $250K step
1960-05-05 Sequoyah County F4 5.4 mi x 33 yd 5 13 $250K step
1960-05-05 Sequoyah County F3 4.5 mi x 33 yd 1 0 $25K step
1960-05-05 Sequoyah County F4 4.9 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1959-05-10 Sequoyah County F2 1.5 mi x 50 yd 0 1 $3K step
1958-02-26 Sequoyah County F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $3K step
1957-08-14 Sequoyah County F0 0 0 –
1957-05-22 Sequoyah County F0 0 0 $25K step
1957-05-22 Sequoyah County F0 0 0 $30 step
1957-04-23 Sequoyah County F1 19.1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $3K step
1957-04-19 Sequoyah County F1 0 0 –
1957-01-22 Sequoyah County F4 10 20 $250K step
1956-08-31 Sequoyah County F0 0 0 –
1955-05-26 Sequoyah County F1 14.2 mi x 400 yd 0 2 $3K 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 Sequoyah County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 8, 2026 hail ($150,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Hail up to tennis ball size damaged homes and vehicles.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1340082)
The 12 most recent records kept for Sequoyah County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-05-08 HailRoland, Sequoyah County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-08 HailMuldrow, Sequoyah County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-08 HailMuldrow, Sequoyah County 2.50 in hail 0 0 $150K
2026-05-08 HailBlackgum, Sequoyah County 0.88 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-04 Thunderstorm WindRoland, Sequoyah County 65 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-04-04 Thunderstorm WindMuldrow, Sequoyah County 70 kt wind 0 0 $10K
2026-04-04 Thunderstorm WindMuldrow, Sequoyah County 61 kt wind 0 0 $10K
2026-04-04 Thunderstorm WindSallisaw Airport, Sequoyah County 56 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtSequoyah County · forecast zone Sequoyah 0 0 –
2026-03-20 WildfireSequoyah County · forecast zone Sequoyah 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtSequoyah County · forecast zone Sequoyah 0 0 –
2026-02-01 DroughtSequoyah County · forecast zone Sequoyah 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 Sequoyah County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1957-01-22 TornadoSequoyah County F4 10 20 $250K step
1960-05-05 TornadoSequoyah County F4 5.4 mi x 33 yd 5 13 $250K step
2004-04-24 Flash FloodNortheast Portion, Sequoyah County Flooding occurred along Lee Creek in the northeast part of Sequoyah county on the 24th of April. This flooding resulted in two deaths. A camper with 3 occupants was swept away by the creek 2 miles north of Short at approximated 645 am cdt. An 85 year old man and a 54 year old woman were swept away by the flood waters ... 2 0 –
1999-04-24 LightningMuldrow, Sequoyah County A 36-year old Muldrow man was killed by lightning while fishing in a tournament on the Arkansas River near Lock and Dam 14. A 24-year old companion was also struck by lightning, suffering severe burns on his right arm, shoulder and foot. 1 1 –
1960-05-05 TornadoSequoyah County F3 4.5 mi x 33 yd 1 0 $25K step
1960-05-05 TornadoSequoyah County F3 3.6 mi x 33 yd 1 0 $250K step
2006-03-09 Thunderstorm WindGans, Sequoyah County Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour damaged the roof of a school. Debris from the roof blew into a room where students were sheltering from the storm and injured 10 of the students. 61 kt wind 0 10 $37K
1988-06-26 Thunderstorm WindSequoyah County 0 6 –

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 Sequoyah County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2008-04-09 Thunderstorm WindMuldrow, Sequoyah County 87 kt wind 0 0 $1.4M
2004-07-03 Flash FloodCountywide, Sequoyah County 0 0 $781K
2000-06-21 Flash FloodCountywide, Sequoyah County 0 0 $428K
2007-01-12 Winter StormSequoyah County · forecast zone Sequoyah 0 0 $336K
2009-01-26 Ice StormSequoyah County · forecast zone Sequoyah 0 0 $300K
2025-09-23 Thunderstorm WindSallisaw, Sequoyah County 65 kt wind 0 0 $250K
2010-05-10 TornadoGore, Sequoyah County EF1 8.9 mi x 1,250 yd 0 0 $203K
2018-11-30 TornadoBlackgum, Sequoyah County EF1 2.4 mi x 900 yd 0 0 $176K

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: May 5, 1960 (tornado, Sequoyah 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 Sequoyah 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).

Sequoyah County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Hail24718851115223
Severe thunderstorm wind7141662885532
Floods––––11163619
Tornadoes10835451312
Heat––––1622 z25
Drought––––012268

Heat in the 2010s: 22 records against 6 in the decade before, 22 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Sequoyah County days with a record above.

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

What time of year?

51% of its hail reports since 1956 fell in April and May. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 29 · Feb 41 · Mar 115 · Apr 132 · May 177 · Jun 95 · Jul 82 · Aug 70 · Sep 30 · Oct 27 · Nov 35 · Dec 27 (records).

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

Federal disaster declarations for Sequoyah County

FEMA's register lists 31 declarations that include Sequoyah County: 22 major disasters, 9 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (15) and severe ice storm (7).

Declarations including Sequoyah County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
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
2019-06-01DR-4438Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2019-05-25EM-3411FloodFlooding
2017-05-26DR-4315Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2016-02-10DR-4256Severe StormSevere Winter Storms and Flooding
2015-05-26DR-4222Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2011-05-27DR-1988Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2011-02-02EM-3316Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2010-03-05DR-1883Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2010-02-25DR-1876Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2010-01-30EM-3308Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2009-02-17DR-1823Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2008-05-09DR-1754FloodSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2008-05-05DR-1752Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, 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
2001-01-05DR-1355Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Ice Storm
2000-12-28EM-3158Severe Ice StormSevere Winter and Ice Storm
1993-05-12DR-991Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding
1990-05-18DR-866Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding
1986-10-14DR-778FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1973-12-10DR-409FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1973-06-13DR-392Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, & Tornadoes
1972-01-14DR-317FloodSevere Storms & 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 Sequoyah County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 82 flood or flash flood records for Sequoyah County from 1996 to 2025, on 57 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Sequoyah County ranks 1694th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.2 million on 46 claims filed in Sequoyah County; the most in one year was 11 in 2010. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1990: 2 · 1994: 1 · 2000: 1 · 2001: 1 · 2003: 2 · 2004: 4 · 2007: 1 · 2008: 2 · 2009: 2 · 2010: 11 · 2011: 2 · 2015: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2022: 3 · 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 Sequoyah County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sequoyah County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $23.5 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 Sequoyah County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
Ice StormVery High$1.1M1.8 a year (modeled)
LightningRelatively High$644K60 a year (modeled)
WildfireRelatively Moderate$3.0Monce in about 69 years (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively Moderate$3.7M24 modeled event-days a year
TornadoRelatively Moderate$3.3Mabout once a year (modeled)
DroughtRelatively Moderate$563K15 modeled event-days a year
Strong WindRelatively Moderate$696K6 a year (modeled)
Winter WeatherRelatively Moderate$99K7.3 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 Sequoyah County

  1. Le Flore County 1,459
  2. Sebastian County, AR 1,218
  3. Muskogee County 1,101
  4. Crawford County, AR 956
  5. Cherokee County 927
  6. Sequoyah County 860
  7. Adair County 622
  8. Haskell County 596

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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