Counties with the most tornadoes in Oklahoma

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Oklahoma that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Oklahoma.

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#50. Roger Mills County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (1.93 per 100 square miles)
- #1,112 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#49. Beaver County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 36 (1.98 per 100 square miles)
- #1,073 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#48. Carter County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.07 per 100 square miles)
- #1,010 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#47. Stephens County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (2.07 per 100 square miles)
- #1,008 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#46. Latimer County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.08 per 100 square miles)
- #1,003 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#45. Osage County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 47 (2.09 per 100 square miles)
- #990 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#44. Craig County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (2.10 per 100 square miles)
- #980 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#43. Noble County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (2.19 per 100 square miles)
- #938 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#42. Coal County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.32 per 100 square miles)
- #845 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#41. Custer County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (2.33 per 100 square miles)
- #841 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#40. Woodward County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 30 (2.41 per 100 square miles)
- #776 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#39. Haskell County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.43 per 100 square miles)
- #766 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#38. Okmulgee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.44 per 100 square miles)
- #758 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#37. Payne County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.48 per 100 square miles)
- #734 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#36. Love County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.53 per 100 square miles)
- #714 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#35. Kingfisher County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (2.56 per 100 square miles)
- #700 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#34. Atoka County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (2.56 per 100 square miles)
- #697 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#33. Murray County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.64 per 100 square miles)
- #656 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#32. Le Flore County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 42 (2.64 per 100 square miles)
- #655 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#31. Johnston County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.64 per 100 square miles)
- #654 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#30. Beckham County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (2.77 per 100 square miles)
- #601 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#29. Cherokee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 21 (2.80 per 100 square miles)
- #588 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#28. Creek County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (2.84 per 100 square miles)
- #571 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#27. Seminole County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (2.84 per 100 square miles)
- #569 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#26. Nowata County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (3.00 per 100 square miles)
- #494 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#25. Lincoln County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (3.05 per 100 square miles)
- #482 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#24. Muskogee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (3.08 per 100 square miles)
- #465 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#23. Logan County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (3.09 per 100 square miles)
- #463 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#22. Pontotoc County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (3.19 per 100 square miles)
- #419 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#21. Kiowa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 34 (3.35 per 100 square miles)
- #365 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#20. Washington County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (3.37 per 100 square miles)
- #361 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#19. Sequoyah County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (3.42 per 100 square miles)
- #347 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#18. Grady County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 38 (3.45 per 100 square miles)
- #339 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 9

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#17. Adair County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 21 (3.66 per 100 square miles)
- #290 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#16. Caddo County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 47 (3.68 per 100 square miles)
- #288 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#15. Marshall County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (3.77 per 100 square miles)
- #270 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#14. Ottawa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (3.82 per 100 square miles)
- #263 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#13. Tillman County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 34 (3.90 per 100 square miles)
- #247 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Rogers County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (4.00 per 100 square miles)
- #232 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#11. McIntosh County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (4.20 per 100 square miles)
- #197 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#10. Pottawatomie County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 35 (4.44 per 100 square miles)
- #163 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 10

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#9. Canadian County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 42 (4.68 per 100 square miles)
- #130 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#8. Okfuskee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (4.69 per 100 square miles)
- #129 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#7. Delaware County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 35 (4.74 per 100 square miles)
- #124 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#6. Tulsa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 33 (5.79 per 100 square miles)
- #61 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#5. Mayes County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 42 (6.41 per 100 square miles)
- #41 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#4. Wagoner County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 36 (6.41 per 100 square miles)
- #40 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#3. McClain County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 37 (6.48 per 100 square miles)
- #37 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 11

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#2. Oklahoma County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 51 (7.20 per 100 square miles)
- #25 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#1. Cleveland County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 51 (9.47 per 100 square miles)
- #5 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 13

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