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Craig County, Oklahoma severe weather history spans 555 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #703 nationally and #58 in Oklahoma.
555
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
43
Direct injuries
$14.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Craig County, Oklahoma severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Craig County, Oklahoma severe weather history averages 7.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 161 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 97 events fall before 1990 and 458 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Craig County, Oklahoma record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $7.9M 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 Craig County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 239 | 0 | $1.4M | 70 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 222 | 0 | $725K | 2.75 | 1959–2026 |
| Tornado | 50 | 1 | $7.9M | F4 | 1951–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 41 | 0 | $4.3M | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $513K | 0 | 2001–2010 |
Decade by decade
Craig County, Oklahoma severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
56 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 49 touched down inside it and 7 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 | Touched down here |
| 1959-09-27 | EF4 | 1 | 1 | 20.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-08 | EF3 | 2 | 80 | 63.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-04-07 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 24.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-24 | EF3 | 0 | 14 | 20.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-07 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 8.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-06-11 | EF2 | 1 | 1 | 15.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-05-01 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-05-26 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 30.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1987-11-15 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Craig County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 1970 | Tornado | 1 | 1 | $250K | |
| May 23, 2011 | Flash Flood | WHITE OAK | 0 | 10 | $0 |
| Dec 24, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 10 | $250K | |
| Aug 6, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | VINITA | 0 | 4 | $30K |
| Apr 7, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 25, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Jan 26, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| May 6, 1960 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An estimated 5 to 8 inches of rain in a short time caused Big Cabin Creek on the west side of Vinita and Bull Creek on the east side of Vinita to overflow their banks and enter 54 homes. Water was five feet deep in some homes. 30 homes were evacuated. The hardest-hit areas were located along North Second to North Fourth Streets, near Sequoyah and Tahlequah. According to the police chief, all of the homes around North Second Street were devastated. Later in the evening, water from Bull Creek drained into Big Cabin Creek, flooding out several homes in the Westwood area. Long-time residents say that the last time Bull Creek flooded any homes was in 1961, though they said the flooding this time was much more serious. Property damage was estimated at $4 million. Swift-moving floodwater from Bull Creek swept a pickup truck off of Eastern State Road.All four lanes of US Hwy 60 were closed by high water 1/2 mile west of Vinita. There were also reports of flooding around Welch.
A tornado developed just south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border north-northwest of Welch. It moved rapidly east across northeastern Craig County, intensifying and widening as it moved into Ottawa County. In Craig County, the tornado destroyed several mobile homes, severely damaged about a dozen other homes, snapped or uprooted numerous trees, and blew down power poles and power lines.
Lightning ignited a large fire at the Paint and Home Decorative Center of the TH Rogers Lumber Company in Vinita, destroying the building and all of its contents. The structure was approximately 60×200 feet and contained laminate flooring, rolls of carpet, cans of paint, and decorative doors.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,302
Population (ACS)
$151K
Median home value
31
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 19, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | 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
- Vinita 168
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Craig County, Oklahoma?
555 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $14.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Craig County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 239 recorded events — 43.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Craig County?
56 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 49 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Craig County?
31 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Craig County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Craig County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Craig County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 56 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Craig 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
- Cotton County 549
- Creek County 1,035
- Comanche County 1,405
- Custer County 811
- Coal County 270
- Delaware County 636
Cite this page
“Craig County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/craig-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.