States › Oklahoma › 1979

Oklahoma, 1979

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

307events recorded132 in 1978

7deaths recorded136 injuries

$35Mproperty damage (estimates)

1disaster declarations387 NFIP claims, $1.2M paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.

Events by hazard

Wind153

Hail95

Tornado59

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1979 was 307 against 132 in 1978.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 1979
Cleveland County	12
Garfield County	11
Payne County	11
Pontotoc County	11
Canadian County	10
Comanche County	9
Custer County	9
Kay County	9
Oklahoma County	9
Grant County	8
McCurtain County	8
Rogers County	8
Tulsa County	8
Carter County	7
Creek County	7
Ellis County	7
Garvin County	7
Jefferson County	7
Lincoln County	7
Logan County	7
McClain County	7
Major County	7
Caddo County	6
Noble County	6
Kingfisher County	5

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
10 Apr 1979	Comanche	Tornado	F3	$25,000,000	3	100
30 Oct 1979	Carter	Tornado	F3	$250,000	3	2
2 May 1979	Major	Tornado	F4	$2,500,000	1	15
2 May 1979	Garfield	Tornado	F4	$250,000	—	10
10 Apr 1979	Tillman	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	3
11 Apr 1979	McCurtain	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	3
10 Apr 1979	Tillman	Tornado	F4	$250,000	—	1
10 Apr 1979	Tillman	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	1
9 May 1979	Woodward	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	1
16 Jul 1979	Oklahoma	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
2 May 1979	Major	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
18 Mar 1979	Tulsa	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
18 Mar 1979	Rogers	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
2 May 1979	Garfield	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	—
2 May 1979	Logan	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
10 Apr 1979	Jefferson	Tornado	F4	$250,000	—	—
10 Apr 1979	Pottawatomie	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
10 Apr 1979	Lincoln	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
10 Apr 1979	Carter	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	—
31 Aug 1979	Kingfisher	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
31 Aug 1979	Logan	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
18 Mar 1979	Washington	Tornado	F3	$25,000	—	—
23 Jul 1979	Washita	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
18 Mar 1979	Kay	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
29 Mar 1979	Okfuskee	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Marshall	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Pontotoc	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
2 May 1979	Payne	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
21 Oct 1979	Murray	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
10 Apr 1979	Cleveland	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
20 Nov 1979	Canadian	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
31 Aug 1979	Carter	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
18 Mar 1979	Nowata	Tornado	F3	$25,000	—	—
10 Apr 1979	Comanche	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	—
19 Aug 1979	Cleveland	Tornado	F0	$2,500	—	—
1 Apr 1979	Lincoln	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	—
19 Mar 1979	Choctaw	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	—
8 Jun 1979	Comanche	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	—
6 Jun 1979	Caddo	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	—
10 Apr 1979	Cleveland	Tornado	F2	$2,500	—	—

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1979

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
13 Apr 1979	DR-576	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	6

Flood insurance claims with a 1979 date of loss

387 NFIP claims, 293 of them paid, for $1,228,961.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.