Welch, Oklahoma
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the North Craig census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74369. The Survey maps it on the Welch South quadrangle. 622 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 820 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresWelch grew from 619 to 622 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 619 | |
| 2020 | 622 | +3 (+0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 14 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1901 USGS Vinita quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1913 USGS Vinita quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Tulsa quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Tulsa quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1963 USGS Tulsa quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Welch South quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Bartlesville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
4 since 2010Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Welch between 2010 and 2012, burning about 31 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 burning | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 July 2011 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Cherokee Nation Tribe | JACKPOT |
| 7 February 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 30062 |
| 9 December 2010 | Other causes | 1.5 acres | Cherokee Nation Tribe | COOKED TURKEY |
| 1 January 2011 | Debris and open burning | 26 acres | Cherokee Nation Tribe | BEZHIG ISHKODE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 83 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Welch in 83 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 40 thunderstorm wind, 31 hail, 8 flash flood, 4 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2012 | Tornado (EF2) | Welch | 1 hurt, $250,000 | A tornado tore the roof off of a permanent home, shifted another permanent home off its foundation and blew out an exterior wall, turned over an outbuilding, rolled two horse trailers, destroyed a 40' by 60' steel-framed barn, and snapped or uprooted a number of hardwood trees. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was 110 to 120 mph. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF2) | Welch | $600,000 | A tornado developed just south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border north-northwest of Welch. It moved rapidly east across northeastern Craig County, intensifying and widening as it moved into Ottawa County. In Craig County, the tornado destroyed several mobile homes, severely damaged about a dozen other homes, snapped or uprooted numerous trees, and blew down power poles and power lines. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $350,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind severely damaged the school gymnasium, damaged the roofs of homes, destroyed outbuildings, and blew down trees. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Welch | $50,000 | Baseball size hail damaged homes and vehicles. |
| April 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Welch | $20,000 | A tornado severely damaged the roof of a mobile home, snapped trees, and took down power lines in extreme northern Craig County. The tornado continued into southeastern Labette County Kansas, where it produced F1 damage. See Storm Data for Kansas, Southeast for details regarding the Labette County segment of this tornado. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Welch | $15,000 | Golf ball size hail damaged vehicles and homes. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Welch | $15,000 | Golf ball size hail damaged vehicles and homes. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $5,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down several power poles. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $5,000 | A large tree was blown down onto a car. |
| September 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a tree and damaged a barn. |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $2,000 | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $1,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down a tree and power lines. |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $1,000 | Thunderstorms winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew large trees limbs down onto power lines. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $500 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $100 | Thunderstorms wind blew down large tree limbs. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $100 | 60 mile an hour thunderstorm winds blew down several tree limbs. |
| October 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $100 | Large tree limbs were blown down. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $100 | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $100 | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $100 | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Flash Flood | Welch | - | Several county roads were flooded and closed. |
| March 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs. |
| March 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | Welch | - | Flood water covered portions of Highway 2 and threatened several homes. |
| April 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | A trained storm spotter measured thunderstorm wind gusts of 72 mph on Highway 59, south of Kansas/Oklahoma state line. |
| September 2014 | Tornado (EF0) | Welch | - | A brief tornado was reported over open country. No known damage occurred with this tornado. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down several large tree limbs. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | A tree was uprooted and large branches were snapped by strong thunderstorm wind. |
| August 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Strong thunderstorm wind snapped trees. |
| May 2011 | Flash Flood | Welch | - | Highway 10 east of Welch was closed due to water over the roadway in several locations. |
| November 2010 | Flash Flood | Welch | - | Heavy rain caused several roads in and around Welch to become flooded. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down large tree limbs at Hollow. |
| September 2009 | Flash Flood | Welch | - | Heavy rain caused Big Cabin Creek to overflow its banks. The creek flowed over a road making it impasssable. |
| May 2009 | Flash Flood | Welch | - | Heavy rain caused numerous streets to be flooded in and around Welch. |
| May 2009 | Flash Flood | Welch | - | Heavy rain caused Cabin Creek to overflow. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a tree and several large tree limbs. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down large tree limbs. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down large trees. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a few trees. |
| December 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down several large tree limbs. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew several large tree limbs down. |
| September 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew a tree down. |
| June 2000 | Flash Flood | Welch | - | Heavy rains caused Clear Creek to come out of its banks flooding several rural roads near Hollow. |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | 60 mph gust reported by NWS Cooperative Observer in the community of Hollow |
| June 1995 | Hail | Welch | - | Severe thunderstorms moved across northeast Oklahoma during the late evening of June 4th and very early morning of June 5th. Strong thunderstorm winds downed trees in Collinsville and in Inola, and several large tree limbs were blown down by strong winds in Okemah. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 60 mph in Bristow, four miles east of Beggs, four miles northeast of Sapulpa, in Owasso, and one mile north of Wagoner, and strong winds blew signs down near the intersection of 31st Street South and Yale Avenue in the city of Tulsa. Quarter-size hail fell just north of Winchester and three miles east of Welch, and dime- to quarter-size hail fell one mile north of Winchester. Dime-size hail also fell four miles northeast of Sapulpa, at Owasso, and one mile south of Eufaula. |
| February 1995 | Hail | Welch | - | A severe thunderstorm produced dime-size hail seven miles north of Welch. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| March 2011 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| September 2009 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| September 2006 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| December 2002 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluejacket | 5.3 miles | 14 | |
| Pyramid Corners | 5.6 miles | 14 | |
| Rogers | 6.2 miles | 15 | |
| Cocklebur Flat | 6.2 miles | 14 | |
| Hollow | 9.3 miles | 14 | |
| Banzet | 9.5 miles | 14 | |
| Kelso | 11.6 miles | 14 | |
| Todd | 14.5 miles | 14 |
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 Welch | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1942878 | The 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 1099471. 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.
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.






