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Blanchard, Oklahoma

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Newcastle-Blanchard census division. It lies in ZIP code area 73010. The Survey maps it on the Blanchard quadrangle. 8,879 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,270 feet above sea level.

Blanchard within McClain County

Population over time

2 figures

Blanchard grew from 7,670 to 8,879 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20107,670
20208,879+1,209 (+16%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 16 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

1 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Blanchard in 2008, burning about 12 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
18 January 2008Debris and open burning12 acresChickasaw AgencyFROZEN TURTLE

Every fire recorded in McClain County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Blanchard: 13 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Unknown Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in McClain County

Storms near this place

60 of 94 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Blanchard in 94 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 59 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 3 flash flood. The reports record 1 death and 17 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 1999Tornado (F4)Blanchard1 killed, 17 hurt, $10,000,000Tornado A9 (McClain County portion). See summary at end of May 3rd storm reports.
November 2024Tornado (EF1)Blanchard$5,000,000This tornado touched down in the northern part of Blanchard and moved north-northeast. The tornado initially was EF0 producing some tree limb damage and damage to one house near Northeast 40th Street and Rockwall. After crossing the Norman Spur of the Bailey Turnpike and moving into Newcastle, EF1 damage was noted to trees and homes as it moved through neighborhoods in Newcastle north of SW 24th Avenue. Newcastle Elementary School received significant roof damage as the tornado continued to move north just west of U.S. Highway 62. The tornado finally dissipated in north Newcastle to the northwest of US-62 and Northwest 16th Street.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$200,000Three church steeples were blown off, and an office building was destroyed.
May 2007LightningBlanchard$30,000A house fire was started after a direct lightning strike. No injuries were reported.
November 2024Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$10,000Public images submitted to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management show large tree branches blown down and other damage to large outdoor furniture and guttering. Event time is radar-estimated.
November 2024Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$10,000A social media image shows a small wood and tin outbuilding destroyed. Event time is radar-estimated.
March 1998Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$6,000Severe thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 mph (by an NWS employee) destroyed a shed, blew part of the roof off a barn, and damaged the roof of a house.
November 2024Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$5,000Relayed images show a large carport blown over and portions of the metal roof of a mobile home peeled back. Event time is radar-estimated.
April 2023Tornado (EF1)Blanchard$5,000The fourth tornado of the outbreak caused tree and power pole damage west of Cole between State Highway 76 and Rockwell Avenue north of 260th Street.
April 2019Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$5,000Facebook pictures of trees downed and fence damage.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$5,000Several tree limbs six inches in diameter were downed along MacArthur Avenue, east of Blanchard. Monetary damages were estimated.
May 2023Tornado (EF0)Blanchard$2,000This tornado moved into McClain County from Grady County. An unanchored shed was blown over and rolled just inside the McClain County line before the tornado dissipated.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$2,000Significant damage to trees and fences were reported one mile east of Highway 76 and just south of the Norman Spur of Interstate 44.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$2,000Trees and power lines were downed.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$2,000Minor roof damage was reported.
April 2000LightningBlanchard$2,000Lightning struck a transformer on Southeast 4th Street knocking out power to approximately 85 homes for 14 hours.
October 1998Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$2,000no account filed
September 1999Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$200no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$100A large tree snapped in half on Sill Circle.
November 1998Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$100no account filed
May 2001Thunderstorm WindBlanchard$10Large tree limbs were downed.
May 2025HailBlanchard-The report was relayed through mPING.
May 2025HailBlanchard-The report was relayed through mPING.
April 2025HailBlanchard-The report was relayed through mPING.
April 2025HailBlanchard-The report was relayed through mPING. Event time adjusted based on observations and nearby reports.
April 2025HailBlanchard-The report was relayed through mPING.
April 2023HailBlanchard-Hailfall had ceased at time of report.
April 2023HailBlanchard-MPing report.
April 2023HailBlanchard-MPing report.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindBlanchard-Four inch diameter tree blocking the road.
May 2019HailBlanchard-Mping report.
May 2015Flash FloodBlanchard-Low water crossings and drainage ditches flooded.
May 2015Tornado (EF1)Blanchard-A tornado moved north just east of MacArthur Avenue from Southeast 7th Street to near US-62 east of Blanchard. Ten homes were damaged.
May 2015Flash FloodBlanchard-Several roads in and around Blanchard proper closed due to high water.
May 2013HailBlanchard-At County Line Rd. and Highway 62.
November 2011Tornado (EF1)Blanchard-This tornado began northeast of Blanchard, paralleling Highway 62 on the north side. Most of the damage was confined to trees being snapped, with slightly more severe damage as the tornado crossed Highway 62, south of Highway 9. A barn lost most of its roof, with other roof/siding/awning damage to a residence as well. The tornado lifted prior to reaching the H.E. Bailey spur of I-44.
May 2011Tornado (EF4)Blanchard-This tornado is labeled C1 (Segment #2 of the Chickasha-Blanchard-Newcastle tornado). Significant damage continued as the violent tornado moved over the McClain county border. This may have been the strongest portion of this tornado, with wind speeds near 200 mph. Well-built homes were destroyed, with some cleaned off of their foundation. A concrete dome home was severely damage, mainly by the flying debris. Trees were debarked or destroyed. Very little was left standing for the first few miles into McClain county. Fairly consistent EF-3, with brief periods of EF-4 damage occurred as the tornado neared/crossed Highway 9, near the Highway 76 junction. The tornado began to weaken as it moved toward the Cleveland county border, with mainly trees and power poles/lines snapped. The tornado continued into Cleveland County. Monetary damage estimates were not available.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindBlanchard-Two small scale circulations, call misocyclones, moved east during the early morning, with damage reported along their paths. The first circulation caused trees and tin outbuilding damage beginning near Blanchard and continuing northeast. The more significant damage occurred a half mile south of Highway 9 on Western Avenue. Here, a large barn was destroyed and a concrete wall of another barn was blown in. Some other minor tree damage was reported just east of this location. Monetary damages were not available.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindBlanchard-Several tree branches at least 6-inches in diameter, as well as numerous smaller branches, were blown down. Minor roof damage was also report to roof of a home, and a couple of windows were broken on a garage. Monetary damage estimates were not available.
July 2007Heavy RainBlanchard-A total of 4.84 inches of rain was measured. An estimated 4.42 inches fell between 300 AM and 420 AM.
September 2003Flash FloodBlanchard-Heavy rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches during the early morning of September 11 generated flash flooding in the Blanchard area. A waterway that runs through part of town overflowed flooding yards and nearly entering some nearby homes. Water was seen reaching the top of the foundations of two homes. The flood waters left behind trash and other flood debris.
March 1998Thunderstorm WindBlanchard-reported by NWS employee
December 1993HailBlanchard-Severe thunderstorms developed in southwest Oklahoma during the late afternoon and evening hours on the 12th moved eastward into portions of central Oklahoma before weakening. These storms produced winds up to 85 miles an hour and hail up to nickel-size. Strong thunderstorm winds broke out several windshields and windows in automobiles, broke out windows at several businesses, damaged roofs, grain bins and a storage building and destroyed outbuildings and garage doors in Hollis. Thunderstorm winds also blew shingles off roofs three miles southwest of Anadarko, broke off tree limbs two miles south of Canute, tore half the roof off a building in Cheyenne and resulted in roof damage to a building at Altus Air Force Base. A 300 foot tower one miles south of Granite was blown lose from the concrete base by strong thunderstorm winds. Dime-size hail covered the ground one mile south of Granite and in Blanchard.
April 2025HailBlanchard-no account filed
February 2023HailBlanchard-no account filed
April 2023HailBlanchard-no account filed
April 2023HailBlanchard-no account filed
April 2023HailBlanchard-no account filed
April 2023HailBlanchard-no account filed
April 2021HailBlanchard-no account filed
May 2020HailBlanchard-no account filed
May 2019HailBlanchard-no account filed
May 2019HailBlanchard-no account filed
March 2016HailBlanchard-no account filed
April 2015HailBlanchard-no account filed
May 2012HailBlanchard-no account filed
May 2012HailBlanchard-no account filed
April 2012HailBlanchard-no account filed
October 2011HailBlanchard-no account filed
October 2011HailBlanchard-no account filed

Every storm recorded in McClain County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Cole5.1 miles13
Dibble7.4 miles13
Newcastle8.2 miles15
Goldsby9.6 miles20
Washington10.7 miles18
Criner12.5 miles14
Payne17.4 miles14
Purcell17.9 miles17

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BlanchardAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3241314The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1090249. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.