Washington County’s strongest and deadliest tornado on record is also one of its most recent: the EF4 of May 6, 2024. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) records 38 tornadoes that touched the county from 1950 through 2025. Three were rated F3/EF3 or stronger.

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.

The EF4 of May 6, 2024

The tornado killed 2 people and injured 33 along a 40.8-mile path through Osage and Washington counties. Its rating and casualty figures describe the whole path, not only the Washington County stretch. It is the only tornado rated EF3 or stronger in the county in 2016–2025. That decade had 5 tornadoes in all.

Before 2024

The county’s only other deadly tornado on record was an F2 on April 26, 1991. It killed 1 person and injured 10 on a 6-mile path that stayed inside the county. Together the two account for all 3 deaths in the record.

Of the 38 tornadoes, 27 are in the two lowest rating classes, F0/EF0 and F1/EF1. Weak tornadoes are detected better now than in the early years. That makes F3/EF3-or-stronger counts the better way to compare earlier and later years.

Clay soil, some of it at the surface

About 43% 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 7.1%. About 7% of mapped land is rated high or very high in the top layer alone. An Osage clay unit on 0–1% slopes, labeled occasionally flooded, covers about 18,958 acres. These are county-wide estimates rather than a test of any lot. For what they mean for a house, see foundation repair in Bartlesville.

Registry and past rebates

Washington County Emergency Management keeps the shelter registry for the county, including Bartlesville, through an online registration page.

The county has run safe room rebates before. The 2021 round was for single-family homes. It offered up to 75% of the cost, capped at $2,500, and its application window closed September 3, 2021. The July 2022 council minutes described rebates of 90%, up to $3,290. They listed 125 rebates offered under a $100,000 grant.

Bartlesville and a shelter quote

The state tax chart lists Bartlesville under both Washington and Osage counties. Its permit steps and fees are on storm shelters in Bartlesville. Use the quote form to reach a local shelter installer. The installer can look at your garage and yard, say which shelter fits and price it. Ask for a written quote that shows each of these on its own line:

  • the shelter
  • installation
  • the permit requirements for your address and who will handle them
  • any permit charge