Altus

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Jackson County, the county that contains Altus.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Jackson County, the county that contains Altus.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Jackson County, the county that contains Altus.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 5, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$750 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Substantial wind damage was reported in Altus. One hundred and seventy-nine homes sustained some kind of damage, with two destroyed, five with major damage, forty-three with minor damage, and one hundred twenty-nine affected. Seventeen businesses were damaged, with two destroyed, four with major damage, and eight with minor damage. One hundred and seventy power poles and numerous trees were blown down. Sixty percent of the town was without power at one point. Roof damage was reported to several buildings. Part of the roof at Altus Junior High caved in. Several buildings on East Broadway had roofs blown off or collapsed. Highway 62 was closed on the east side of town due to…

2. Jun 5, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$6.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous large tree limbs were downed around town. Monetary damages were estimated.

3. Jan 28, 2010Ice Storm, Jackson$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At least three quarters of an inch of ice accumulated on elevated surfaces, with localized areas reporting over an inch of accumulation. Most of the trees sustained some sort of damage. Over 200 power poles and associated power lines were downed, including the main power feeder line between Altus and Hollis (Harmon County). Thousands were without power for several days, and several roads were impassable for days due to debris lying on top of them. Monetary damages were estimated.

4. Apr 15, 2000Hail$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Baseball size hail (2.75 inches in diameter) caused an estimated 2 million dollars in damage to homes and businesses and 600 thousand dollars to vehicles.

5. Dec 27, 2015Ice Storm, Jackson$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage estimates reported by local power companies.

6. May 31, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms affected much of western Oklahoma and portions of central Oklahoma during the afternoon and evening of May 31st, and the early morning of June 1st. Although 7 tornadoes were confirmed across western Oklahoma, all on the 31st, only 2 of them caused damage. The most extensive damage during this severe weather outbreak was caused by straight-line winds and occurred across southern Kiowa and western Comanche Counties during the evening of the 31st. A very large swath of damaging straight-line winds developed on the west side of Tom Steed Lake in southern Kiowa County and expanded in coverage as it moved through all of southern Kiowa County, at times 10 to 15 miles…

7. May 3, 1999Hail$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A record outbreak of tornadoes struck Oklahoma from late afternoon of May 3, 1999, through early morning of May 4, 1999. To date, 58 tornadoes have been recorded across portions of western and central Oklahoma. Additional tornadoes were reported across eastern Oklahoma from late evening of May 3rd through the early morning of May 4th, and are listed under the eastern Oklahoma portion of Storm Data, provided by the National Weather Service Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. All direct fatalities (40) and all direct injuries (675) occurred in the Norman National Weather Service warning area. The most notable tornado was rated F5 and formed over Grady County near Amber and tracked northeast…

8. May 25, 1999Hail$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms spawned 6 tornadoes and produced very large hail over portions of western Oklahoma during the evening of the 25th. Fortunately, all of the tornadoes touched down in sparsely populated areas with no known damage. Thus, all were rated F0. The first tornado formed 5 miles north of Madge in Harmon County and was on the ground for only a short period of time. The 2nd tornado was reported by an amateur radio operator 6 miles east of Vinson in Harmon County. The tornado touched down in an open field with no known damage. The 3rd tornado was also witnessed by an amateur radio operator and formed 11 miles west of Mangum in Greer County. The tornado was on the ground…

9. May 23, 2024Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large, multiple vortex tornado began just east of the Harmon/Jackson County line approximately 7.5 miles southwest of Duke. This tornado moved slowly southeast, then turned more easterly as it approached County Road N1880. One house west of N1880 Road had most of the shingles and some decking removed. The tornado caused tree damage crossing N1880 Road, then continued east breaking power poles across 1.2 miles as it crossed State Highway 34. East of State Highway 34, a mobile home was blown northeast about 75 yards down a hill, and a metal canopy garage was destroyed. The tornado turned northeast for the next five miles. One home received roof damage, and some farm equipment,…

10. Jun 19, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several tree limbs 6 inches in diameter blown down. Also, several trees 24 inches in diameter and a 50 foot HAM radio antenna were blown down. Two 35,000 bushel grain storage tanks were toppled by the high wind. The event lasted approximately 15 minutes. Monetary damages were estimated.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

117°FJul 19, 1936

All-time low

−10°F2 times, most recently Jan 22, 1930

Warmest night

89°FJul 28, 2011

Coldest day

5°FJan 12, 1912

Wettest day

6.20 inJul 5, 2010

Snowiest day

12.0 inDec 6, 1942

Hottest year

2024mean 64.5°F

Coldest year

1979mean 58.5°F

Wettest year

194145.89 in

Driest year

191012.72 in

Snowiest season

17.0 in1923-24

Station Hobart Municipal Airport (USW00093986), 1,553 ft elevation, 27.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1910 to October 27, 2026; 99.3% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Jackson County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00093986.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.