Ottawa County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Ottawa County: 7.
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.

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 8, 2007Ice Storm, Ottawa$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One to two inches of ice accumulated on trees, power lines and other exposed surfaces.

2. Jul 1, 2007Flood$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Neosho River near Commerce rose above its flood stage of 15 feet at 4:15 am CDT on June 29. The river crested at 29.25 feet at midnight CDT July 5. The river fell below its flood stage at 2:15 am CDT on July 9.||The flooding reached the major category and was near record levels. Disastrous flooding occurred in nearby Miami. Approximately 2500 residents were evacuated and 574 structures were inundated with water. Some buildings had up to 3 feet of water in them and approximately 148 homes and businesses were damaged to the degree that they were not given permission to renovate. All highways except for one and approximately 40 streets in Miami were closed due to high water…

3. May 10, 2008Tornado$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed at 1620 cst in northeastern Craig County and continued into Ottawa County. The tornado moved rapidly eastward toward the town of Picher where it destroyed about 200 homes, killed six people, and injured another 150 people at about 540 pm. Damage in and around Picher was rated EF-4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. ||The tornado began moving more southeasterly near Picher and struck the north side of Quapaw. While this tornado was beginning to weaken east of Quapaw, the supercell produced another tornado a few miles east-northeast of Quapaw that merged with this tornado just east of I-44. After the merger of the two tornadoes, a single tornadic circulation…

4. Apr 27, 2014Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado damaged or destroyed about 50 homes and businesses in and around Quapaw, destroyed several metal-framed buildings, destroyed barns and outbuildings, blew over several vehicles, snapped or uprooted numerous trees, and blew down numerous power poles. At least twelve people were injured in Quapaw from the tornado and one fatality occurred when a brick wall fell onto a vehicle that was parked along side it. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 115 to 125 mph. The tornado continued into Cherokee County, Kansas, where it destroyed homes and businesses in Baxter Springs and injured about two dozen people there.

5. May 20, 2013Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado snapped or uprooted numerous trees and damaged numerous homes. It moved east-northeast for several miles but turned more easterly after crossing the Neosho River. The most significant damage occurred as the tornado crossed Highway 137, where a metal building and several homes were severely damaged. Many hardwood trees were also snapped above the ground in that area. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 115 to 125 mph.

6. May 4, 2003Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Baseball sized hail caused significant damage to about 160 cars at an automobile dealership. Cars and house roofs near the dealership also likely sustained damage.

7. Nov 29, 2006Winter Storm, Ottawa$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The roof of a boat manufacturing plant collapsed, destroying 40 boats.

8. Apr 25, 1999Flood, Ottawa$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Neosho River at Commerce rose above its flood stage of 15 feet at noon CDT on April 25. The river crested at 20.2 feet at 100 AM CDT on April 28 before falling back below flood stage at 200 PM CDT on April 30.Flash flooding along Tar Creek combined with mainstem river flooding along the Neosho River resulted in major damage to 14 homes, with 75 homes suffering minor damage. OK Hwy 125 near the Miami Fairgrounds was closed.

9. Jan 12, 2007Winter Storm, Ottawa$324,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An arctic cold front moved into northeastern Oklahoma during the late evening hours of the 11th and had finally passed through the southeastern portion of the state by the evening of the 12th. A strong upper level low pressure system moved into the southern Rockies and several disturbances translated across the Southern Plains bringing periods of heavy sleet and freezing rain to the region. The initial precipitation began around daybreak on the 12th and the final round occurred on the 14th. |A devastating swath of one to three inch ice amounts fell in an estimated 60 to 80 mile wide band from roughly Atoka to McAlester to Muskogee to Grove. An estimated 120,000 electric customers…

10. May 4, 2003Tornado$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An F1 tornado occurred in central Ottawa county from south of Narcissa to northeast of Fairland. No injuries or fatalities occurred; however, significant damage was observed. Two mobile homes were destroyed and several other homes, barns and outbuildings were damaged. The tornado ended when another supercell thunderstorm moving northeast out of Delaware county collided with it. The storm reorganized and later produced the Pierce City, Missouri tornado.

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

115°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−15°F3 times, most recently Feb 16, 2021

Warmest night

85°F2 times, most recently Jul 17, 1954

Coldest day

−1°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

7.12 inSep 30, 1986

Snowiest day

20.0 inMar 16, 1970

Hottest year

2012mean 61.5°F

Coldest year

1976mean 54.9°F

Wettest year

198565.25 in

Driest year

196318.35 in

Station Joplin Regional Airport (USW00013987), 972 ft elevation, 27.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 99.7% 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 USW00013987.
• 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.