PlainHazard

Oklahoma drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 77 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 6,658 drought records in Oklahoma from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 277 a year since 2000. The costliest was the July 6, 1998 drought ($905 million in 2025 dollars). Oklahoma ranks 2nd of 51 states and territories by count and 4th of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Oklahoma, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
6,6581996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
277average
Deaths
04 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$1.7Bas filed
Busiest year
2022895 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma averages about 277 drought records a year since 2000, 2nd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2022 (895). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Oklahoma records 971 drought records since 1996, 4th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Oklahoma have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Harmon County leads Oklahoma: 144 days with a drought record since 1996, 268.0 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Harmon County has the most drought records (144 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Harmon County 268.0 (144)
  2. Marshall County 228.8 (85)
  3. Greer County 222.1 (142)
  4. Murray County 206.5 (86)
  5. Washington County 194.9 (81)
  6. Cotton County 180.2 (114)
  7. Jackson County 179.4 (144)
  8. Love County 169.3 (87)
  9. Pawnee County 156.6 (89)
  10. Tillman County 150.4 (131)
  11. Jefferson County 148.9 (113)
  12. Beckham County 145.3 (131)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma's drought records by month. The busiest month is September (627 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 595 · Feb 615 · Mar 623 · Apr 571 · May 475 · Jun 369 · Jul 546 · Aug 562 · Sep 627 · Oct 547 · Nov 582 · Dec 546 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Oklahoma

Oklahoma: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1998-07-06 DroughtChoctaw County · forecast zone Choctaw 0 0 $905M
2006-06-01 DroughtHarper County · forecast zone Harper 0 0 $221M
2013-06-01 DroughtBeaver County · forecast zone Beaver One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $76M
2013-04-01 DroughtCimarron County · forecast zone Cimarron One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $76M
2012-12-01 DroughtBeaver County · forecast zone Beaver One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $71M
2012-11-01 DroughtTexas County · forecast zone Texas One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $64M
2013-01-01 DroughtBeaver County · forecast zone Beaver One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $62M
2013-03-01 DroughtCimarron County · forecast zone Cimarron One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $51M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Oklahoma and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeOklahomaUnited StatesOklahoma's share
1996-99165,6000.3%
2000s1,13718,5716.1%
2010s3,23931,44110.3%
2020-262,26630,1477.5%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Oklahoma

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-01 DroughtPayne County · forecast zone Payne 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtLincoln County · forecast zone Lincoln 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtGarfield County · forecast zone Garfield 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtWoodward County · forecast zone Woodward 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtWoods County · forecast zone Woods 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtWashita County · forecast zone Washita 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtTillman County · forecast zone Tillman 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtRoger Mills County · forecast zone Roger Mills 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtOklahoma County · forecast zone Oklahoma 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtMajor County · forecast zone Major 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtLogan County · forecast zone Logan 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtKiowa County · forecast zone Kiowa 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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