Multiple wildfires burning across Oklahoma have scorched over 62 720 ha (155 000 acres) as of February 18, 2026, prompting Governor Kevin Stitt to declare a State of Emergency in Beaver, Texas, and Woodward counties. The Ranger Road Fire alone burned approximately 58 700 ha (145 000 acres) across Oklahoma and southern Kansas, with 0% containment reported.
A fast-moving Ranger Road Fire ignited on February 17, 2026, in Beaver County, Oklahoma, and expanded into southern Kansas by February 18, burning approximately 58 700 ha (145 000 acres) within hours. The wildfire prompted mandatory evacuations in Clark County, Kansas, and injured at least four firefighters during suppression efforts.
A storm moving from the Southern Plains into the Southeast will generate widespread showers, locally heavy rainfall, and severe thunderstorms across the southern and eastern United States through February 16, 2026. Slight Risk areas for Severe Thunderstorms and Excessive Rainfall extend from east Texas into the lower Mississippi Valley, with additional Marginal Risk areas across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Up to 115 fatalities have been reported across more than 20 states in the U.S. after a historic winter storm swept through the eastern two-thirds of the country between January 24 and 26, 2026. The storm is now the deadliest since the 2021 Texas power crisis, when multiple storms claimed nearly 250 lives across the country, and has surpassed the death toll of the 2022 Buffalo Blizzard of the Century.
Winter storm warnings and watches have been issued across a broad swath of the United States due to a long-duration winter storm forecast to affect the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley to the Midwest, Great Lakes, Appalachians, and parts of the Southwest.
A major winter storm will bring widespread snow, sleet, and freezing rain from the Southern Plains to the Mid-Atlantic between Friday, January 23, and Sunday, January 25, 2026.
Two radar-confirmed tornadoes struck parts of Oklahoma on January 8, 2026, one near Purcell in McClain County at 07:31 LT and another south of Stella in Cleveland County at 07:45 LT. The storms damaged and destroyed multiple structures in Purcell and left more than 3 500 customers without power.
Red Flag Warnings are in effect for parts of Colorado, Oklahoma, and the Texas Panhandle through Monday, January 5, 2026. The warnings are valid from mid-morning to late afternoon due to very low relative humidity and gusty winds creating critical fire conditions across the region.
Multiple winter weather advisories are in effect across Texas and the Oklahoma panhandles on Thursday morning, December 4, 2025, as snow and sleet create hazardous travel conditions through early afternoon.
The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) has issued a Moderate Risk of Excessive Rainfall for south-central Texas through Thursday, November 20, 2025, with 75–125 mm (3–5 inches) of rain possible and locally higher totals. The same frontal system is forecast to advance eastward into eastern Oklahoma and the Ozarks by Thursday night, bringing a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall to those regions.
