Harper County, Oklahoma severe weather history spans 611 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 59.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #559 nationally and #51 in Oklahoma.
611
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$1.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Harper County, Oklahoma severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Harper County, Oklahoma severe weather history averages 8.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 193 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 106 events fall before 1990 and 505 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $969K in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Harper County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 363 | 0 | $4K | 4.5 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 205 | 0 | $565K | 83 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 32 | 0 | $969K | F3 | 1960–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2019 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $35K | 0 | 2002–2004 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2018 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2007 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Harper County, Oklahoma severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-23 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 15.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-05-23 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-15 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 11.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-11-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 27.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1987-03-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1987-03-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-09-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-04-12 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Harper County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Apr 12, 1960 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Jun 9, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Buffalo | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 1995 | Tornado | Selman | 0 | 1 | $500K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
As a tornado was dissipating north of Laverne, damaging winds from this supercell produced widespread roof, tree and power line damage in Laverne. A number of homes and buildings throughout town suffered roof damage, and multiple power poles were downed in Laverne as well as to the east along State Highway 149.
This tornado moved into Harper County from Beaver County OK (see report from the Oklahoma panhandle from NWS Amarillo). At the Beaver County-Harper County line, the tornado caused roof damage to a home as well as tree damage. It continued to damage trees and power poles as the tornado moved to just northeast of Laverne. A barn was damaged along US-283 just north of Laverne before the tornado dissipated. In addition to the tornado, a large area of wind damage was observed south of the tornado creating areas of wind damage in the town of Laverne.
An Oklahoma City television storm chaser observed a tornado from 10:42 to 10:47 pm CDT in far northeastern Harper County. An outbuilding was destroyed and numerous trees were downed on a ranch. The tornado dissipated before reaching the state line.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,203
Population (ACS)
$99K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jun 1, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Buffalo 181
- Laverne 114
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Harper County, Oklahoma?
611 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Harper County?
Hail, with 363 recorded events — 59.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Harper County?
34 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 28 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Harper County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Harper County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Harper County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Harper County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 46 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Harper 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
- Harmon County 497
- Haskell County 445
- Greer County 539
- Hughes County 421
- Grant County 676
- Jackson County 1,135
Cite this page
“Harper County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/harper-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.