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North and Central Sebastian; Southern Crawford; Central and Southern Franklin; Pushmataha; Choctaw; Washington; Nowata; Tulsa; Rogers; Mayes; Okmulgee; Wagoner; Muskogee; McIntosh; Pittsburg; Southeast Osage
Pittsburg County, Oklahoma severe weather history spans 934 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 46.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #180 nationally and #21 in Oklahoma.
934
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
44
Direct injuries
$12.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Pittsburg County, Oklahoma severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma severe weather history averages 12.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 269 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 134 events fall before 1990 and 800 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Pittsburg County, Oklahoma record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $9.5M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Pittsburg County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 432 | 0 | $1.1M | 4.5 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 319 | 0 | $1.8M | 88 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 87 | 1 | $9.5M | F4 | 1950–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 81 | 1 | $307K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 13 | 1 | $10K | 0 | 2010–2018 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 1999–1999 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Pittsburg County, Oklahoma severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
87 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 83 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-05-11 | EF4 | 0 | 3 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-19 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 16.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-05-26 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-04-27 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-05-05 | EF2 | 2 | 6 | 11.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-06-11 | EF2 | 1 | 14 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 19.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pittsburg County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 1970 | Tornado | 1 | 14 | $2.5M | |
| Jan 11, 2020 | Flash Flood | ASHLAND | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Dec 28, 2015 | Flood | ULAN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 1996 | Tornado | MC ALESTER | 0 | 9 | $750K |
| May 2, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $25K | |
| Apr 23, 2000 | Tornado | HARTSHORNE | 0 | 5 | $250K |
| May 11, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Apr 11, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Portions of several roads were flooded across southwestern Pittsburg County, as a result of three to five inches of rain that fell across the area. A 58 year-old man drove his pickup truck into deep flood water flowing over S Harper Valley Road, where it became inoperable. He exited the vehicle, was swept downstream by the rapidly flowing water, and was drowned.
This tornado developed north of Harper Valley Road and west of Poe Lane. It moved east-southeast across Harper Valley Road, where trees were uprooted and large tree limbs were snapped. The tornado then moved southeast across Kiowa, where numerous trees were uprooted or snapped, homes were damaged, outbuildings were destroyed, and power poles were snapped. It then dissipated just southeast of Kiowa. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 95 to 105 mph.
An F1 tornado touched down north of Hartshorne and lifted 2 miles later northeast of Hartshorne.The tornado destroyed five mobile homes and a frame house. The roofs of four other homes were damaged. The tornado also uprooted large trees and downed power lines.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
43,561
Population (ACS)
$157K
Median home value
33
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
- Mc Alester 154
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma?
934 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $12.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pittsburg County?
Hail, with 432 recorded events — 46.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pittsburg County?
87 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 83 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pittsburg County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pittsburg County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pittsburg County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pittsburg County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 73 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pittsburg 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
- Payne County 847
- Pontotoc County 795
- Pawnee County 592
- Pottawatomie County 712
- Ottawa County 611
- Pushmataha County 558
Cite this page
“Pittsburg County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/pittsburg-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.