Cleveland County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Cleveland County: 42.
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.

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

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.

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. May 20, 2013Tornado$2.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   The violent Newcastle-Moore tornado moved into Cleveland County from McClain County as it moved northeast across the Canadian River near Interstate 44. The tornado then turned more east and then east-northeast after crossing Interstate 44. Violent EF4 damage was again observed as it began to move into progressively higher density residential areas approaching May Avenue.||The center of the large tornado path passed near SW 149th Street and Western Avenue. After crossing Western Avenue, numerous buildings were destroyed and horses killed at Orr Family Farm. Two storage tanks estimated to weigh approximately 10 tons were lifted from Orr Family Farm and landed about one-half mile…

2. May 3, 1999Tornado$450 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado A9 (Cleveland County portion). See summary at end of May 3rd storm reports.

3. May 8, 2003Tornado$210 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is the first segment of a tornado that began in Cleveland County and moved into Oklahoma County before dissipating 2.5 miles south-southeast of Choctaw. The tornado began in the area of Northwest 5th Street and Santa Fe Avenue in Moore, near the Church of Latter Day Saints. Damage intensities increased quickly to F2 and isolated F3 as the tornado, initially narrow, moved east along 5th street. Substantial structural damage in this initial touchdown area was confined to homes on the north side of 5th Street, just east of Santa Fe. Homes on the south side of 5th, and those on 6th Street one block to the north, were relatively undamaged.The damage track then widened quickly to…

4. Mar 25, 2015Tornado$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado began at 634 PM near Southwest 119th street in southwest Oklahoma City, then moved east southeastward. The tornado moved through Moore, then continued to its ending location just southeast of Indian Hills road and 36th Ave northeast in far north Norman. The tornado had an eleven mile discontinuous path, with minor to moderate damage to homes and businesses. Seven people were injured, but no fatalities occurred.

5. Feb 26, 2023Tornado$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado that moved through Goldsby in McClain County crossed the Canadian River and into Cleveland County moving swiftly through southern and eastern portions of Norman. The tornado passed less than one mile southeast of the National Weather Center, and damaged numerous homes in neighborhoods near 12th Avenue SE and Cedar Lane Road, and northeast of 24th Avenue SE and Imhoff Road as well as damaging apartments and businesses near the intersection of State Highway 9 and US Highway 77. EF2 damage was noted at several apartment buildings, homes and businesses in these areas. Moving northeast, the tornado moved into less areas with less density of homes and people, but still…

6. Nov 5, 2008Hail$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Abundant amounts of quarter to golfball size hail were reported near and around Northwest 36th street and Tecumseh Road. Severe winds also occurred, estimated at 60 mph. The combination of wind and hail caused widespread significant damage to roofs, windows, fences and vehicles. Most homes on the northwest side of Norman suffered some type of damage,especially in the area bounded by Rock Creek Road on the south, 48th Avenue NW on the west, Franklin Road on the north, and Interstate 35 on the east. Local damage assessments found thousands of residents had to get their roofs replaced, and many also suffered significant damage to windows, screens, fences, outbuildings and siding. In…

7. Jul 11, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four Chinook helicopters located outside at an Army Aviation Support Facility received damage to their rotor blades, with the blades being severely twisted and requiring replacement.

8. Dec 26, 2000Ice Storm, Cleveland$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major winter storm developed during the evening of the 25th across all of western, central, and southeast Oklahoma, with significant accumulations of snow and ice beginning shortly after 0000 CST on the 26th. Mainly snow fell across northwest Oklahoma with accumulations between 8 and 12 inches reported across northern Beckham, Roger Mills, and southern Ellis Counties. Snow amounts varied widely across the rest of northwest Oklahoma with 4 to 8 inches falling across portions of Dewey and Custer Counties, and only 1 to 2 inches across Woods and Alfalfa Counties, however even in areas where snow amounts were light, significant disruptions in travel and power outages were reported.A…

9. Oct 4, 1998Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major severe weather outbreak occurred across western and central Oklahoma from the afternoon of the 4th through the early morning of the 5th, resulting in 19 tornadoes, straight-line wind damage, hail as large as baseballs, and significant flooding across portions of Lincoln and Noble Counties, where numerous costly bridges were destroyed.Thunderstorms first developed over northwest Oklahoma during the early and mid-afternoon where hail larger than golf balls was reported in Major and Woodward Counties. The first of 19 tornadoes occurred at 1425 CST in Woods County 11 miles south-southwest of Dacoma. A media storm chaser observed this multiple vortex tornado as it touched down…

10. Mar 31, 2013Hail$2.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    The hail was reported at Southwest 24th St. and Brooks St. Hail of this size was reported at several locations across southwest Norman, and resulted in extensive damage. Numerous vehicles were damaged and some 85 homes lost windows from blowing hail. Damages estimated based on media reports and number and type of damaged structures.

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°FAug 3, 2012

All-time low

−14°FFeb 16, 2021

Warmest night

84°FAug 3, 2012

Coldest day

3°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

7.62 inJun 14, 2010

Snowiest day

13.5 inDec 24, 2009

Hottest year

2012mean 64.2°F

Coldest year

1968mean 58.2°F

Wettest year

200756.95 in

Driest year

195417.84 in

Snowiest season

24.4 in1967-68

Station Oklahoma City Will Rogers World (USW00013967), 1,279 ft elevation, 11.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00013967.
• 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.