For Oklahomans keeping an eye on the sky, Cleveland County is officially in the crosshairs. A fresh look at decades of storm records finds Cleveland County at the top of the statewide list when tornadoes are measured by density, with about 21 tornadoes per 100 square miles. Oklahoma County and Tulsa County come in close behind. The area surrounding Oklahoma City and much of the Tulsa metro absorbs a large share of the state’s recorded twisters, while a cluster of northeastern counties also lands in the top ten. The ranking uses an analysis that adjusts raw tornado counts for county size so it highlights where twisters are relatively concentrated instead of just where there is more land.
What the numbers show
The county rankings come from an analysis reported by The Oklahoman, which drew on long-running tornado records to calculate incidents per 100 square miles. That breakdown puts Cleveland County at roughly 21 tornadoes per 100 square miles, Oklahoma County at about 19, and Tulsa County at about 18…..