Alfalfa County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Alfalfa County: 0.
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 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.

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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. Jan 30, 2002Ice Storm, Alfalfa$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain began across the northwest third of the state during the evening of the 29th with significant accumulations of ice developing shortly after midnight on the 30th. Freezing rain shifted southward during the early morning of the 30th with moderate to occasionally heavy freezing rain occurring in a 50 to 60 mile wide band, extending from north central Oklahoma, near Ponca City and Perry, southwestward toward Enid, Kingfisher, Oklahoma City, Weatherford, Anadarko, and Hobart. In many areas, the freezing rain continued for 12 to 24 hours, with ice accumulations of 1 to 2 inches commonly observed. As the end of the storm neared, freezing rain transitioned to sleet and snow…

2. Sep 12, 2008Flash Flood$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Highway 8/58 was closed due to water over the roadway. Numerous homes and businesses had water up to the front entryways. At least 100 homes suffered minor water damage. Monetary damages were estimated.

3. Nov 27, 2015Ice Storm, Alfalfa$562,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice knocked out power for 3,450 customers. Damage estimates are from local power cooperatives.

4. Jun 5, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread damage occurred as a result of very strong winds that moved through Alfalfa county. Several silos at the Alfalfa County Feeders were destroyed. Three hundred thousand bushels of corn was destroyed inside the silos. Several outbuildings were destroyed and numerous homes sustained minor roof damage from Cherokee to Ingersol. Widespread tree damage was reported. Several 100-foot douglas fur utility poles and power lines were blown down on US Highway 64, causing it to be closed for a short period of time. Monetary damages were estimated.

5. Mar 5, 2026Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed about 4 miles west-southwest of Helena, or about a mile southeast of the community of McWillie. This tornado moved generally northeast although there was some variability in motion as it moved north of Helena and then south and east of Jet. Power poles were damaged as the tornado crossed State Highway 45 and areas west of Helena. Significant damage was observed along State Highway 58 north of Helena where a number of power poles were broken along a mile stretch of SH-58, and at least three barns were destroyed (EF2) both along SH-58 and east of SH-58 on E0300 Road. The tornado continued to produce tree and power pole damage as it moved northeast. Power poles…

6. Aug 25, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several severe thunderstorms caused strong winds from mid- afternoon into the evening hours. Wind gusts reached as high as 69 knots (80 mph). The strong wind gusts caused widespread damage across the town of Cherokee. Numerous power poles and lines were downed which resulted in all the residents of Cherokee having no power for a time. A hangar at the Cherokee Municipal Airport received heavy damage to the roof and several walls. A few planes were also damaged. The debris was said to have traveled several hundred yards across the runways. Several plate-glass windows were also blown out at the local Chevrolet dealership. Numerous trees and tree limbs were downed. Road signs were…

7. Jun 3, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Estimated winds of at least 80 mph were reported in Cherokee. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down, causing 5,000-6,000 people in and around Cherokee to be without power. High voltage transmission structures and power lines were downed north of Cherokee. Five to six barns sustained major damage, with another barn in Ingersol destroyed. Monetary damages were estimated.

8. Dec 27, 2015Ice Storm, Alfalfa$146,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage estimates reported by local power companies.

9. May 30, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread damage reported in Carmen. Three foot diameter tree limbs down with loss of electricity to most of the town. Damages are estimated.

10. Jun 7, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A swath of significant thunderstorm wind damage continued into portions of northwestern and north-central Alfalfa County on the early morning of the 7th. Multiple residences in the community of Burlington reported tree damage, including large limbs blown down with several smaller trees uprooted. Along Oklahoma Highway 8, between the communities of Cherokee and Driftwood, a large, uprooted tree landed on a house and multiple power poles were snapped, with one landing on the corner of a mobile home. Additional damage continued along the Oklahoma Highway 11 corridor northeast of the community of Cherokee. In addition to tree damage, a metal carport was vaulted and landed on the…

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

113°F2 times, most recently Jul 30, 1986

All-time low

−21°FFeb 10, 2011

Warmest night

85°FJun 25, 1911

Coldest day

1°F2 times, most recently Dec 23, 1989

Wettest day

8.74 inSep 12, 2008

Snowiest day

19.0 inFeb 22, 1971

Hottest year

2024mean 62.2°F

Coldest year

1976mean 55.0°F

Wettest year

196048.14 in

Driest year

191013.05 in

Snowiest season

55.0 in1987-88

Station Helena 1 Sse (USC00344019), 1,350 ft elevation, 8.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1906 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00344019.
• 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.