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Helena, Oklahoma

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Helena census division. It lies in ZIP code area 73741. The Survey maps it on the Helena quadrangle. 1,537 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,411 feet above sea level.

Helena within Alfalfa County

Population over time

2 figures

Helena grew from 1,403 to 1,537 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
20101,403
20201,537+134 (+10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 9 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.

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Helena: 3 past producers. None of them 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

Every working recorded in Alfalfa County

Storms near this place

29 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Helena in 29 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 18 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
March 2026Tornado (EF2)Helena$400,000This tornado developed about 4 miles west-southwest of Helena, or about a mile southeast of the community of McWillie. This tornado moved generally northeast although there was some variability in motion as it moved north of Helena and then south and east of Jet. Power poles were damaged as the tornado crossed State Highway 45 and areas west of Helena. Significant damage was observed along State Highway 58 north of Helena where a number of power poles were broken along a mile stretch of SH-58, and at least three barns were destroyed (EF2) both along SH-58 and east of SH-58 on E0300 Road. The tornado continued to produce tree and power pole damage as it moved northeast. Power poles were broken east of Jet along N2740 Road and along U.S. Highway 64 on both sides of the Alfalfa-Grant County line. The tornado then moved into Grant County with the centerline crossing the county line just north of U.S. 64.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindHelena$20,000Power poles were downed, and structural damage was sustained to numerous buildings.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindHelena$5,500no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindHelena$4,000Power lines were downed near the intersection of Highways 58 and 45. Monetary damages were estimated.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindHelena$2,000A garage was damaged.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindHelena$150Tree limbs, two inches in diameter, were downed.
May 2024Tornado (EFU)Helena-This tornado moved east-northeast from Major County into Alfalfa County and was observed by storm chasers looking west from near State Highway 58 near the county line. No damage was reported and the path of the tornado is estimated.
September 2008Heavy RainHelena-The measured rainfall was 8.74 inches, much of it falling in a six to eight hour period.
October 2002Flash FloodHelena-State Highway 45 was closed due to high water.
September 2001Tornado (F0)Helena-This tornado was captured on video over the town of Helena, moving eastward. No damage was observed or reported.
April 2026HailHelena-no account filed
May 2022HailHelena-no account filed
May 2015HailHelena-no account filed
April 2011HailHelena-no account filed
April 2009HailHelena-no account filed
February 2008HailHelena-no account filed
May 2008HailHelena-no account filed
April 2006HailHelena-no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindHelena-no account filed
May 2006HailHelena-no account filed
October 2005HailHelena-no account filed
March 2004HailHelena-no account filed
April 2004HailHelena-no account filed
April 1999HailHelena-no account filed
May 1999HailHelena-no account filed
June 1998HailHelena-no account filed
May 1995HailHelena-no account filed
June 1995HailHelena-no account filed
October 1994HailHelena-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Alfalfa 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
McWillie4.5 miles9
Carwile5.9 miles8
Goltry6.3 miles8
Jet9.5 miles10
Aline9.8 miles8
Carmen10.4 miles8
Yewed12.0 miles8
Lambert12.5 miles8

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 HelenaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q517637The 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 1093653. 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.

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.