Oklahoma severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 77 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 22,248 severe thunderstorm wind events in Oklahoma from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 507 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the September 7, 2012 thunderstorm wind: 4 deaths, 1 injury and $707,000 in damage in 2025 dollars across 20 records. Oklahoma ranks 5th of 52 states and territories by count and 21st of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in Oklahoma, 1955 to 2026
Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- 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
- 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 22,2481955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 507average
- Deaths
- 23371 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $1.7Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2001828 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 severe thunderstorm wind events common in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma averages about 507 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 5th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2001 (828). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Oklahoma records 3243 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 21st of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, 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 severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, Tulsa County leads Oklahoma: 415 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 727.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Tulsa County has the most thunderstorm wind records (878 since 1955); 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).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the severe thunderstorm season in Oklahoma?
45% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in May and June. The busiest month is June (5,195 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 115 · Feb 331 · Mar 1,018 · Apr 2,205 · May 4,754 · Jun 5,195 · Jul 3,267 · Aug 2,645 · Sep 1,189 · Oct 831 · Nov 556 · Dec 142 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Oklahoma?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-09-07 | Thunderstorm WindNowata Airport, Nowata County One storm episode: 20 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. Severe thunderstorms developed ahead of and along a strong cold front that moved into the region during the early afternoon of the 7th. A couple of the storms evolved into supercell thunderstorms early in the event across southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. One such storm developed over Washington County ... | 87 kt wind | 4 | 1 | $707K |
| 1998-09-21 | Thunderstorm WindJones, Oklahoma County One storm episode: 7 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Severe thunderstorms developed over much of western and central Oklahoma from late morning through late evening of the 21st, and were responsible for 1 fatality and 18 injuries. Three tornadoes were also sighted. Storms first developed in Kay County during the late morning where a semi-truck was blown over 1.5 miles ... | 1 | 18 | $10M | |
| 2001-05-27 | Thunderstorm WindLawton, Comanche County One storm episode: 32 records in 15 places; the totals are the episode's. A very large and severe line of thunderstorms formed across southwest Kansas during the late afternoon of the 27th, and moved southward into Oklahoma during the evening. Widespread damage due to straight-line winds accompanied the line of thunderstorms, with most of southwest and south central Oklahoma sustaining ... | 1 | 4 | $40M | |
| 2023-06-17 | Thunderstorm WindOilton, Creek County One storm episode: 72 records in 9 places, 2023-06-17 to 2023-06-18; the totals are the episode's. Severe thunderstorms developed over the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, southwestern Kansas, and southeastern Colorado during the afternoon of the 17th, along and ahead of a cold front as a strong upper level disturbance translated into the Southern Plains. These storms organized into a surging line of severe ... | 70 kt wind | 1 | 3 | $160M |
| 2024-09-19 | Thunderstorm WindPawnee Airport, Pawnee County One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed into northeastern Oklahoma during the evening of the 19th, as a cold front approached the area. Very strong instability combined with increasing deep layer shear to result in one of the thunderstorms evolving into a supercell. This storm was high-based with a deep layer of ... | 70 kt wind | 1 | 2 | $113K |
| 2012-02-20 | Thunderstorm WindAda, Pontotoc County Information provided by a NWS Storm Survey team and local radar confirmed that a strong microburst occurred near the Happyland community. A strapped down, double-wide was destroyed by the intense winds, with debris scattered 100 to 150 yards. Unfortunately, two people were inside the mobile home when it was destroyed. | 78 kt wind | 1 | 1 | – |
| 2011-07-24 | Thunderstorm WindChouteau, Mayes County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. High-based thunderstorms developed in the early afternoon of July 24th over eastern Oklahoma. Several of the stronger storms produced damaging downburst wind. | 56 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $72K |
| 2025-03-30 | Thunderstorm WindScraper, Cherokee County One storm episode: 7 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed into eastern Oklahoma during the late evening of the 29th, ahead of an approaching cold front as a strong upper level disturbance translated into the Southern Plains. The combination of moderately strong instability and strong wind shear allowed the strongest storms to produce ... | 61 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $52K |
| 2019-10-21 | Thunderstorm WindValliant, McCurtain County Several large trees fell onto a mobile home west of Valliant on Sandpiper Road near the Choctaw County line. One fatality occurred at the scene when a 48 year old female was killed by a fallen tree. One injury was also reported to a male resident in the home. | 65 kt wind | 1 | 1 | – |
| 2001-02-09 | Thunderstorm WindKingston, Marshall County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Severe thunderstorms developed across southern Oklahoma during the late evening of the 8th and overnight hours of the 9th, resulting in areas of significant wind damage. The worst damage occurred on the western shore of Lake Texoma in Marshall County, where 8 boathouses were sunk and forty boats were damaged. One man ... | 1 | 1 | $17M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Oklahoma
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-06-05 | Thunderstorm WindAltus, Jackson County One storm episode: 12 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. | 76 kt wind | 0 | 2 | $1.0B |
| 2023-06-17 | Thunderstorm WindOilton, Creek County One storm episode: 72 records in 9 places, 2023-06-17 to 2023-06-18; the totals are the episode's. | 70 kt wind | 1 | 3 | $160M |
| 1995-07-23 | Thunderstorm WindMoore And Oklahoma Ci, Oklahoma County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (11, in 7 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 3 | $98M | |
| 2001-05-27 | Thunderstorm WindLawton, Comanche County One storm episode: 32 records in 15 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 4 | $40M | |
| 1993-05-08 | Thunderstorm WindHealdton, Carter County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (8, in 7 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 21 | $23M | |
| 1995-06-03 | Thunderstorm WindUnion City, Canadian County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (5, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 1 | $20M | |
| 2001-02-09 | Thunderstorm WindKingston, Marshall County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 1 | $17M | |
| 1999-09-12 | Thunderstorm WindBeaver County One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $14M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events 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.
| Decade | Oklahoma | United States | Oklahoma's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 262 | 3,482 | 7.5% |
| 1960s | 557 | 10,124 | 5.5% |
| 1970s | 713 | 18,714 | 3.8% |
| 1980s | 1,918 | 39,604 | 4.8% |
| 1990s | 5,207 | 85,554 | 6.1% |
| 2000s | 5,461 | 129,990 | 4.2% |
| 2010s | 4,714 | 161,286 | 2.9% |
| 2020-26 | 3,416 | 126,815 | 2.7% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in Oklahoma
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | Thunderstorm WindSweetwater, Beckham County | 66 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-30 | Thunderstorm WindKenton, Cimarron County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindCheyenne, Roger Mills County | 54 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindLuther, Oklahoma County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindMay, Harper County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindMidwest City, Oklahoma County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindEl Reno, Canadian County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindEl Reno, Canadian County | 64 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindEl Reno, Canadian County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindCalumet, Blaine County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $50K |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindChandler, Lincoln County | 74 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $75K |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindStillwater, Payne County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $10K |
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.
Federal disaster declarations for severe thunderstorm wind events in Oklahoma
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 51 declarations in Oklahoma, 49 of them major disasters; the latest on March 18, 2025.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-18 | DR-4862 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 8 |
| 2024-07-23 | DR-4802 | Severe Storms | 1 |
| 2024-06-14 | DR-4791 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 10 |
| 2023-07-19 | DR-4721 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes | 25 |
| 2023-03-03 | DR-4690 | Severe Winter Storm | 1 |
| 2022-09-20 | DR-4670 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 1 |
| 2022-06-29 | DR-4657 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 7 |
| 2019-08-07 | DR-4456 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 1 |
| 2019-07-12 | DR-4453 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 19 |
| 2019-06-01 | DR-4438 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 51 |
| 2017-05-26 | DR-4315 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 21 |
| 2017-02-10 | DR-4299 | Severe Winter Storm | 11 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Tulsa County: the county's whole recordThe Oklahoma county with the most severe thunderstorm wind events per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in OklahomaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Hail in Oklahoma31,601 records
- Drought in Oklahoma6,658 records
- Tornadoes in Oklahoma5,054 records