Seminole County, Oklahoma severe weather history spans 501 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 53.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #868 nationally and #63 in Oklahoma.
501
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
63
Direct injuries
$17.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Seminole County, Oklahoma severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Seminole County, Oklahoma severe weather history averages 7.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 144 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 128 events fall before 1990 and 373 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Seminole County, Oklahoma record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $15.4M 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 Seminole County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 268 | 0 | $10K | 4.5 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 144 | 0 | $1.7M | 78 | 1956–2026 |
| Tornado | 61 | 0 | $15.4M | F4 | 1954–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 21 | 1 | $355K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $219K | 0 | 1998–2003 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 2023–2025 |
Decade by decade
Seminole County, Oklahoma severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
67 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 54 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-09-14 | EF4 | 2 | 6 | 67.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1981-05-17 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 33.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-05-04 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-05-10 | EF3 | 0 | 28 | 37.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-10-04 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-05-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 15.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-08 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 29.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-04-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-05-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 11.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1963-05-26 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Seminole County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2007 | Flash Flood | SEMINOLE | 1 | 0 | $50K |
| May 10, 2010 | Tornado | SEMINOLE | 0 | 26 | $0 |
| Nov 17, 1958 | Tornado | 0 | 15 | $250K | |
| Feb 18, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 20, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $25K | |
| Jan 18, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Apr 17, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| May 27, 1963 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Three to four feet of water accumulated at the Seminole Ford/Mercury car dealership. Numerous city and county roads were closed due to the high water. A 67-year old woman drowned as her car was washed off the roadway into Magnolia Creek.
A long track tornado began between Maud and Seminole, before making a north to northeast path of damage across Seminole County. The most extensive damage was to buildings just east of downtown Seminole, as well as near the Seminole Academy. Buildings had the roofs removed from the tornado, and some buildings had exterior walls damaged. As the tornado moved to the northeast, it produced sporadic damage to mainly rural areas northeast of Seminole.
Rainfall amounts upwards of 3 inches caused widespread creek, ditch, and street flooding across Seminole County. Numerous driveways built across ditches (tinhorns) across the county were washed out and several roads were closed. Tragically, a mother and her two children drowned in a swolen creek. Investigators determined that flooding was not the direct cause of the accident since she was not washed off the road; rather, she had simply driven off of the roadway in the darkness and the family was not able to escape the vehicle.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
23,494
Population (ACS)
$100K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Seminole 103
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Seminole County, Oklahoma?
501 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $17.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Seminole County?
Hail, with 268 recorded events — 53.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Seminole County?
67 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 54 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Seminole County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Seminole County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Seminole County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Seminole County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 57 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Seminole 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
- Rogers County 934
- Sequoyah County 703
- Roger Mills County 696
- Stephens County 1,039
- Pushmataha County 558
- Texas County 1,112
Cite this page
“Seminole County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/seminole-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.