Natural hazards · May

May, OK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in May comes from drought, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is May?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in May to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and cold waves.

Drought42%Cold waves22%Ice storms13%Inland flooding6%Hail6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What May faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Drought

42% of expected damage

Recorded about 92 times a year in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Ice storms

13% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Inland flooding

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does May flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in May.

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. May isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Harper County.

Disasters that hit May

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Harper County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching May itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into MayDeclared for Harper County only

Harper County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and ice storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. May is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to May’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of May. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.