No tornado in Wagoner County’s record is listed with a death, and none was rated above F3/EF3. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) lists 64 tornadoes that touched the county from 1950 through 2025. Four of them were rated F3/EF3.

Cutaway illustration of a house with a storm shelter below the garage floor and a separate underground shelter in the back yard
Two common placements: below the garage floor and underground in the yard.

How the record is counted

SPC lists direct deaths as they were reported along each tornado’s full path. Each rating describes a tornado’s worst damage anywhere on that path. A tornado is counted once for every county it touches. So the same tornado can also show up in a neighboring county’s total.

Eighteen tornadoes in ten years

From 2016 through 2025 the county had 18 tornadoes, none rated EF3 or stronger. That is more than a quarter of the 76-year list in a single decade. Compare strong-tornado counts across decades because the early record missed more weak tornadoes.

Across the record, 45 of the 64 were F0/EF0 or F1/EF1 and 14 were F2/EF2. One has no known rating.

More clay near the surface

The soil survey estimates that 38.7% of the county’s mapped land has soils rated high or very high for shrink-swell: clay that swells when wet and shrinks as it dries. The very high class covers 4.3%. More of that clay reaches the top layer than in Creek or Rogers County. Share of mapped land rated high or very high at the surface:

  • Wagoner County: 9.6%
  • Creek County: 0.9%
  • Rogers County: 4.0%

The largest high-rated unit is the Dennis-Radley complex on 0–15% slopes, at 33,399 acres. An Osage silty clay loam on 0–1% slopes, labeled occasionally flooded, covers 16,783 acres. County map figures like these do not describe a particular lot.

Broken Arrow crosses the county line

Part of Broken Arrow lies in Wagoner County. The Oklahoma Tax Commission’s rate chart gives Broken Arrow two codes, one matching Tulsa County and one matching Wagoner County. Broken Arrow’s permit and registry rules are on storm shelters in Broken Arrow. Local foundation details are on foundation repair in Broken Arrow.

A quote for your property

When you request a quote, it goes to a local installer. The installer can look at your house and yard and recommend a garage-floor, in-ground or above-ground option. Then it can price that option. Ask for a written quote that itemizes:

  • the shelter
  • installation
  • whether a permit applies, who will pull it and any fee

Published shelter price ranges are on storm shelter costs in Oklahoma.