Woodward County, Oklahoma

What hazards hit Woodward County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 517 since 1956. 56% of its hail reports since 1956 fell in May and June. 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.

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 Woodward County had?

NOAA records 65 tornadoes in Woodward County from 1950 to 2025, the strongest rated EF3, with 6 deaths and 32 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 65 tornadoes whose track touched Woodward County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 65, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 6 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Oklahoma.

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 Woodward County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 21, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($500,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Several railroad cars were blown off the tracks near the crossing at County Road 207, just north of U.S. Highway 412. The event time is estimated based on radar observations.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1346303)

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

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 Woodward 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).

Drought in the 2010s: 60 records against 20 in the decade before, 60 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 Woodward 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?

56% of its hail reports since 1956 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Woodward County

FEMA's register lists 31 declarations that include Woodward County: 14 major disasters, 9 emergencies and 8 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (11) and severe storm (10).

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 Woodward County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 27 flood or flash flood records for Woodward County from 1996 to 2022, on 24 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Woodward County ranks 1694th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $188,000 on 46 claims filed in Woodward County; the most in one year was 10 in 1996. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 Woodward County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Woodward County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $12.7 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.

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

Counties that share a border with Woodward County

1. Woodward County 1,364
2. Woods County 1,179
3. Ellis County 1,021
4. Dewey County 951
5. Harper County 893
6. Major County 890

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

Next

• Tornadoes in OklahomaEvery Oklahoma tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Hail in OklahomaThe state's hail reports, by county, year and month
• The Oklahoma recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Woodward CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Woodward County's FEMA declarations (CSV)31 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis