Lawton

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 Comanche County, the county that contains Lawton.

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.

The drought index is for Comanche County, the county that contains Lawton.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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. May 27, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$11.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind damage to buildings, homes, trees, and infrastructure was reported city-wide. A telephone pole fell on and killed a passenger riding on a motorcycle.

2. May 27, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage to buildings, homes, trees, and infrastructure was reported city-wide.

3. May 31, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 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…

4. May 23, 2015Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flood waters up to roofs of homes in the Rock Creek subdivision.

5. Dec 10, 2021Wildfire, Comanche$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Named the Coombs fire, this fire burned roughly 1464 acres and destroyed at least 19 strucures, including 5 homes and 14 barns. Nine vehicles were also reported destroyed.

6. Dec 27, 2015Ice Storm, Comanche$488,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage estimates reported by local power companies.

7. May 23, 2015Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Homes flooding with vehicles floating away from residences.

8. Aug 27, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The roof was damaged at Hugh Bish Elementary School.

9. Jun 11, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At least nine homes sustained varying degrees of thunderstorm wind damage near the intersection of Goodin Road and Trail Road. At least two lost significant portions of their roof decking. Additionally, several outbuildings and barns were severely damaged, experiencing roof and/or wall loss. A small broadcast tower also collapsed in this area. The event time is estimated based on radar observations.

10. Apr 26, 2025Flash Flood$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous relayed images and videos showing extensive flash flooding in and around the community of Lawton. Multiple water rescues were performed, and multiple vehicles were stranded in floodwaters. A man drowned when his vehicle became submerged in floodwaters near the intersection of 2nd Street and F Avenue. Event time is approximate.

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

114°FJul 19, 2022

All-time low

−12°FFeb 16, 2021

Warmest night

86°FMay 28, 2011

Coldest day

10°FFeb 15, 2021

Wettest day

5.50 inApr 26, 2025

Hottest year

2024mean 65.5°F

Coldest year

1997mean 60.4°F

Wettest year

201742.22 in

Driest year

200314.25 in

Station Lawton Municipal Airport (USW00003950), 1,070 ft elevation, 4.1 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1996 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 Comanche 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 USW00003950.
• 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.