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Sentinel, Oklahoma

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Southwest Washita census division. It lies in ZIP code area 73664. The Survey maps it on the Sentinel quadrangle. 763 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,640 feet above sea level.

Sentinel within Washita County

Population over time

2 figures

Sentinel fell from 901 to 763 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
2010901
2020763-138 (-15%)

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

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Sentinel: 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Copper. 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
Sentinel South-1CopperOccurrence1963

Every working recorded in Washita County

Storms near this place

48 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sentinel in 48 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 25 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 lightning. 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
August 1994Thunderstorm WindSentinel$50,000no account filed
August 2023Thunderstorm WindSentinel$30,000Relayed images showing wind damage in/near the community of Sentinel. The most significant damage was to a silo, which was partially crushed. Multiple structures had varying degrees of roof damage, including a few that had portions removed. Time is radar estimated.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindSentinel$30,000Strong winds caused damage in and around Sentinel. Six large overhead garage doors were damaged. One of these doors was blown in at the Technology Education Building of the Sentinel School. The northwest exterior wall of this building was also separated from the roof. Three of the six overhead doors were damage at the new Area Activity Center. The final door was on a barn one mile southeast of town. The doors at the Combs Disposal Co. were also damaged. The winds then scattered Polycarts across the area. Fifteen power poles were also snapped southeast of town.
January 2013Thunderstorm WindSentinel$25,000At least one barn was destroyed and several power poles were blown down. Damages estimated.
August 2006LightningSentinel$15,000Lightning caused some structural damage to a house in Sentinel. A small fire also caused some damage.
March 2000Tornado (F1)Sentinel$3,500This tornado formed 5 miles east of Sentinel and was captured on video by an Oklahoma City television storm chaser as it tracked eastward for 2 miles before dissipating. Seven power poles were downed by this tornado on State Route 55.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindSentinel$3,000Power lines were reported down.
August 1997Thunderstorm WindSentinel$2,000Severe thunderstorm winds destroyed a large shed and downed power poles.
November 2024Tornado (EFU)Sentinel-A Tornado Debris Signature (TDS) was observed developing in northwestern Kiowa County before moving north into Washita County. The presence of the TDS indicates that at least tree damage likely occurred despite the lack of any specific damage reports. The path is estimated, but the tornado likely moved about one-half mile north into Washita County before dissipating.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindSentinel-Social media image showing a large tree blown down. Time is radar estimated.
May 2019Flash FloodSentinel-Four to 8 inches of water running across the road between Sentinel and Rocky.
May 2019FloodSentinel-SH 55 between Sentinel and Rocky was closed due to water on roadway.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindSentinel-The wind gust was measured at the Retrop mesonet site.
March 2008HailSentinel-The hail was mostly up to golfball size, but a few stones measured three to three and a half inches.
March 2008HailSentinel-The hail covered the ground.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindSentinel-Wind gust was measured by the Retrop Oklahoma mesonet station.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindSentinel-Wind gust was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet 2 miles south of Retrop.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindSentinel-Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
April 2003Thunderstorm WindSentinel-Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
April 2003Thunderstorm WindSentinel-Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindSentinel-Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
April 1999HailSentinel-Hail was reported to be 3 to 4 inches deep.
May 2011HailSentinel-no account filed
May 2011HailSentinel-no account filed
May 2011HailSentinel-no account filed
March 2008HailSentinel-no account filed
March 2008HailSentinel-no account filed
June 2007HailSentinel-no account filed
September 2007Thunderstorm WindSentinel-no account filed
September 2007HailSentinel-no account filed
May 2006HailSentinel-no account filed
March 2004HailSentinel-no account filed
May 2003HailSentinel-no account filed
May 2003HailSentinel-no account filed
September 2002HailSentinel-no account filed
September 2002Thunderstorm WindSentinel-no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindSentinel-no account filed
September 2001HailSentinel-no account filed
April 2000HailSentinel-no account filed
May 2000HailSentinel-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindSentinel-no account filed
June 1998HailSentinel-no account filed
June 1997HailSentinel-no account filed
April 1996HailSentinel-no account filed
May 1996HailSentinel-no account filed
April 1996HailSentinel-no account filed
May 1995HailSentinel-no account filed
March 1993HailSentinel-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Washita 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
Rocky6.1 miles9
Port7.7 miles9
Dill City8.5 miles11
Old Retrop8.9 miles9
Retrop9.8 miles9
Rainy (historical)11.7 miles9
Burns Flat13.2 miles11
Cordell13.5 miles9

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 SentinelAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2328178The 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 1097916. 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.