Stephens County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Nov 3, 2024Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed near US Highway 81 and the Jefferson County line south of Comanche and moved northeast for nearly 22 miles. At least two dozen buildings were damaged by the tornado including a number of homes that were destroyed. Hundreds of trees were reported downed along the path as well as numerous power lines and power poles. Numerous large trees were destroyed and debarked at the tornado moved over the Comanche Golf Course and Comanche Lake to the east of the town of Comanche with the tree damage significant enough for an EF3 rating. After crossing Comanche Lake, the tornado continued northeast crossing State Highway 7 between Duncan and Velma, and dissipating a few…

2. Dec 26, 2000Ice Storm, Stephens$2.8 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…

3. Jan 28, 2010Ice Storm, Stephens$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Near three quarters of an inch of ice accumulated on trees and power lines. Widespread tree and power line damage was reported, with several trees/power lines lying across roadways. The electricity was out for most of the county, with thousands not having power for several days. Monetary damages were estimated.

4. Nov 27, 2005Wildfire, Stephens$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wildfire near Velma in Stephens county burned approximately a 15 mile area. The fire began on November 27th and continued to burn into the first part of December. The fire caused the evacuation of some residents and at one point surrounded the town of 664 people. The fire also caused the closure of State Highway 7. Four firefighters suffered smoke inhalation. Several residents also received minor burns. Strong winds and dry conditions combined to cause this fire to spread quickly. About 20 fire departments assisted in fighting the fire. Overall, the fire destroyed 16 homes, including 8 mobile homes, and numerous outbuildings, including two large barns. The exact cause of the…

5. Nov 3, 2024Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The same thunderstorm that produced the tornado near Comanche produced another tornado that began northeast of Lake Fuqua and moved northeast into Garvin County. At least one home suffered significant roof damage along State Highway 29 and trees and power poles were damaged along the path.

6. Jul 14, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread wind damage was reported in Marlow. Numerous trees were blown down with power lines and poles downed. Hail up to the size of tennis balls combined with the winds also damaged roofs and took out windows of homes. Wind gusts were estimated to be greater than 70 mph. Monetary damage estimated.

7. Mar 4, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The roofs of three houses were severely damaged. Power lines were also downed and trees uprooted.

8. Jun 15, 2023Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed 2.6 miles southeast of Loco and moved east-southeast. Damage was confined to trees and power line poles until the tornado approached the county line where a mobile home was destroyed. The tornado did move into Jefferson County.

9. May 9, 2015Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flood waters reported in school building.

10. Apr 5, 2025Hail$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous social media images showing hail damage throughout the community of Loco due to wind-driven hailfall. This included numerous car and house windows cracked or broken and siding damage to multiple structures. Event time is estimated from radar observations.

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, 26.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1996 to October 26, 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.

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 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.