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Southern Sebastian; Craig; Ottawa; Haskell; Northern Le Flore; Northeast Osage; Central and Southern Sequoyah; Central Le Flore
Heat Advisory
Southern Sebastian; Craig; Ottawa; Haskell; Northern Le Flore; Northeast Osage; Central and Southern Sequoyah; Central Le Flore
Ottawa County, Oklahoma severe weather history spans 611 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 37.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #559 nationally and #51 in Oklahoma.
611
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
234
Direct injuries
$47.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Ottawa County, Oklahoma severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ottawa County, Oklahoma severe weather history averages 8.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 179 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 64 events fall before 1990 and 547 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Ottawa County, Oklahoma record is tornado, responsible for 7 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $24.1M in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Ottawa County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 231 | 0 | $2.0M | 4.25 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 204 | 2 | $1.1M | 93 | 1956–2025 |
| Flood | 83 | 0 | $20.0M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 47 | 0 | $512K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 46 | 7 | $24.1M | F4 | 1956–2024 |
Decade by decade
Ottawa County, Oklahoma severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
48 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 35 touched down inside it and 13 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-05-10 | EF4 | 21 | 350 | 75.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-04-03 | EF4 | 0 | 59 | 41.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-04-07 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 24.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-24 | EF3 | 0 | 14 | 20.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-05-07 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 8.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-08-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-04-27 | EF2 | 1 | 37 | 11.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-12-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 31.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ottawa County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 2008 | Tornado | NORTH MIAMI | 6 | 150 | $15.0M |
| Apr 27, 2014 | Tornado | COMMERCE | 1 | 12 | $3.0M |
| Sep 7, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | MIAMI | 1 | 0 | $25K |
| Jul 4, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | PICHER | 1 | 0 | $20K |
| Apr 3, 1956 | Tornado | 0 | 46 | $250K | |
| Sep 25, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 14 | $250K | |
| Jan 26, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $25K | |
| May 23, 2011 | Flash Flood | MIAMI | 0 | 4 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado developed at 1620 cst in northeastern Craig County and continued into Ottawa County. The tornado moved rapidly eastward toward the town of Picher where it destroyed about 200 homes, killed six people, and injured another 150 people at about 540 pm. Damage in and around Picher was rated EF-4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. ||The tornado began moving more southeasterly near Picher and struck the north side of Quapaw. While this tornado was beginning to weaken east of Quapaw, the supercell produced another tornado a few miles east-northeast of Quapaw that merged with this tornado just east of I-44. After the merger of the two tornadoes, a single tornadic circulation reintensified and became about a mile wide for several miles before moving into Newton County MO.
A tornado damaged or destroyed about 50 homes and businesses in and around Quapaw, destroyed several metal-framed buildings, destroyed barns and outbuildings, blew over several vehicles, snapped or uprooted numerous trees, and blew down numerous power poles. At least twelve people were injured in Quapaw from the tornado and one fatality occurred when a brick wall fell onto a vehicle that was parked along side it. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 115 to 125 mph. The tornado continued into Cherokee County, Kansas, where it destroyed homes and businesses in Baxter Springs and injured about two dozen people there.
The Neosho River near Commerce rose above its flood stage of 15 feet at 4:15 am CDT on June 29. The river crested at 29.25 feet at midnight CDT July 5. The river fell below its flood stage at 2:15 am CDT on July 9.||The flooding reached the major category and was near record levels. Disastrous flooding occurred in nearby Miami. Approximately 2500 residents were evacuated and 574 structures were inundated with water. Some buildings had up to 3 feet of water in them and approximately 148 homes and businesses were damaged to the degree that they were not given permission to renovate. All highways except for one and approximately 40 streets in Miami were closed due to high water causing limited access into and out of the city.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
30,341
Population (ACS)
$123K
Median home value
34
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, 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 |
| Jul 12, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Miami 247
- Commerce 105
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ottawa County, Oklahoma?
611 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 9 direct deaths and $47.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ottawa County?
Hail, with 231 recorded events — 37.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ottawa County?
48 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 35 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ottawa County?
34 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ottawa County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ottawa County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ottawa County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 76 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ottawa 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
- Osage County 1,489
- Pawnee County 592
- Okmulgee County 749
- Payne County 847
- Oklahoma County 2,500
- Pittsburg County 934
Cite this page
“Ottawa County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/ottawa-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.