Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
North and Central Sebastian; Southern Crawford; Central and Southern Franklin; Pushmataha; Choctaw; Washington; Nowata; Tulsa; Rogers; Mayes; Okmulgee; Wagoner; Muskogee; McIntosh; Pittsburg; Southeast Osage
Washington County, Oklahoma severe weather history spans 625 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 45.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #523 nationally and #49 in Oklahoma.
625
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
74
Direct injuries
$51.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Washington County, Oklahoma severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Washington County, Oklahoma severe weather history averages 8.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 178 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 70 events fall before 1990 and 555 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Washington County, Oklahoma record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $42.6M 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 Washington County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 284 | 0 | $3.7M | 4.5 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 258 | 0 | $3.8M | 88 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 35 | 1 | $42.6M | F3 | 1953–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 35 | 0 | $318K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Flood | 11 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2007–2019 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 2001–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Washington County, Oklahoma severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
42 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 35 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-06 | EF4 | 2 | 33 | 40.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1979-03-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-26 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-04-26 | EF2 | 1 | 10 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-03-15 | EF2 | 0 | 57 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-03-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-05-23 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 15.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Washington County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1991 | Tornado | 1 | 10 | $250K | |
| Mar 16, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 57 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 19, 2003 | Tornado | DEWEY | 0 | 3 | $1.7M |
| May 26, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $3K | |
| Feb 29, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | OCHELATA | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This is the second segment of a two-segment tornado. The tornado crossed into Washington County near Gap Road, and moved across the southwestern portion of Bartlesville, and then across the central and northeastern side of town. An estimated 1000 homes and businesses were damaged in town, some severely. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, and many power poles were snapped. A squall line merged with the tornadic supercell, and ultimately ended the tornado process northeast of Bartlesville. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 115 to 125 mph.
A tornado entered Washington county 5 miles northwest of Dewey and passed between Dewey and Copan before entering Nowata county 1 mile north of Wann or 6.8 miles east northeast of Copan. The tornado produced F2 damage and a half mile wide damage path at its peak. 41 homes, two businesses and 40 barns and sheds were damaged. 16 of the homes were severely damaged including two mobile homes which were completely destroyed. Three people were treated at an emergency room of a hospital in Bartlesville due to injuries received during the tornado. Two of those people were inhabitants of one of the moble homes that was destroyed.
Emergency management personnel measured thunderstorm wind gusts to 80 mph. A hospital, a school, and an apartment complex sustained major damage to their roofs due to the strong wind. Nearly 600 homes were also damaged by the wind, about 100 of which had major damage. Numerous trees and large tree limbs were blown down along with many power poles. Over 10,000 people were without power in Bartlesville at the height of the storm. School was canceled the following day due to the prolonged power outage in the area and due to storm debris covering many roads used by the school buses.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
53,326
Population (ACS)
$173K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 19, 2026 | Fire | RATTLESNAKE FIRE | FM |
| Apr 30, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 31, 2023 | Fire | GAP ROAD FIRE, OKLAHOMA FMAG | FM |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Bartlesville 179
- Copan 102
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Washington County, Oklahoma?
625 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $51.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Washington County?
Hail, with 284 recorded events — 45.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Washington County?
42 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 Washington County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Washington County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Washington County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washington County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 76 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Washington 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
- Wagoner County 688
- Washita County 795
- Tulsa County 2,391
- Woods County 825
- Tillman County 971
- Woodward County 1,004
Cite this page
“Washington County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/washington-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.