Cherokee County, Oklahoma severe weather history spans 755 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 40.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #337 nationally and #37 in Oklahoma.
755
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
19
Direct injuries
$10.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Cherokee County, Oklahoma severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Cherokee County, Oklahoma severe weather history averages 10.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 236 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 63 events fall before 1990 and 692 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Cherokee County, Oklahoma record is flash flood, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $6.1M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Cherokee County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 309 | 1 | $1.6M | 80 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 275 | 0 | $506K | 4.25 | 1964–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 71 | 5 | $1.7M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 52 | 2 | $6.1M | F3 | 1956–2026 |
| Flood | 44 | 0 | $75K | 0 | 1999–2022 |
| Lightning | 4 | 1 | $35K | 0 | 1996–2002 |
Decade by decade
Cherokee County, Oklahoma severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
53 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 47 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-06-01 | EF3 | 2 | 5 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-12 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 29.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-04-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-05 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 37.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-05-10 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-08-10 | EF2 | 1 | 2 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-11-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 32.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 21.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-11-30 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 47.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-04-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Cherokee County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 1996 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 4 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 1999 | Tornado | HULBERT | 2 | 5 | $1.5M |
| Mar 30, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | SCRAPER | 1 | 1 | $30K |
| Jul 7, 2002 | Lightning | HULBERT | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2008 | Flash Flood | PEGGS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 1, 2018 | Tornado | COOKSON | 0 | 5 | $1.5M |
| Jul 4, 1996 | Lightning | TAHLEQUAH | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| May 21, 2019 | Tornado | PEGGS | 0 | 1 | $800K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Strong thunderstorm wind blew down a tree onto a camper on the east side of the Illinois River. Two occupants of the trailer were trapped. One of the two occupants died from injuries sustained in the event, and the other was rescued by first responders.
Heavy rain caused Highway 82 to be flooded at Peggs and several rural roads to be flooded across the northern part of Cherokee County. A woman drove a vehicle into a flooded low water crossing and the vehicle became stranded. A two year old girl was washed downstream and drowned as the mother tried to get her out of the vehicle.
Lightning struck a 32 year old woman and her 14 year old daughter while they were standing under a tree. They were in Wildwood Park on the shores of Ft. Gibson Lake near Hulbert. Both were taken by Lifeflight helicopter to Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa. The daughter fully recovered. The woman died at 530 am CDT the next morning.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
47,942
Population (ACS)
$169K
Median home value
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 24, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Feb 17, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 1, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Tahlequah 269
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Cherokee County, Oklahoma?
755 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 9 direct deaths and $10.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Cherokee County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 309 recorded events — 40.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Cherokee County?
53 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 47 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Cherokee County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Cherokee County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Cherokee County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cherokee County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 77 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Cherokee County, Oklahoma severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Carter County 897
- Choctaw County 420
- Canadian County 1,260
- Cimarron County 529
- Caddo County 1,302
- Cleveland County 1,561
Cite this page
“Cherokee County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/cherokee-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.