Arkansas River at Tulsa

1. 26.00 ftdisastrous flooding occurs along the Arkansas River in Tulsa County. Many homes and businesses are flooded. The flooding exceeds the record flood of October 5, 1986 when the river crested at 25.2 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation. Road closures and inundation maps for Tulsa County can be found at www.cityoftulsa.org/.
2. 24.00 ftvery severe flooding occurs along the Arkansas River in Tulsa County. Some homes and businesses in south Tulsa and Bixby are flooded. Riverside Drive in Tulsa is closed. This exceeds the flooding that occurred in May 2019 when the river crested at 23.5 feet. The record flood was on October 5, 1986 when the stage reached 25.2 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation. Road closures and inundation maps for Tulsa County can be found at www.cityoftulsa.org/.
3. 22.00 ftsevere flooding occurs along the Arkansas River in Tulsa County. Some homes in parts of south Tulsa and Bixby may be flooded. Riverside Drive in Tulsa becomes impassable. This compares with the flood of October 5, 1959 when the stage reached 22.0 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation. Road closures and inundation maps for Tulsa County can be found at www.cityoftulsa.org/.
4. 21.00 ftmoderate flooding occurs between Keystone Dam and Bixby. Riverside Drive in Tulsa is impassable at several locations. Homes and businesses in parts of south Tulsa and Bixby may be isolated by high water. The Town and Country neighborhood west of Sand Springs is flooded.
5. 20.00 ftmoderate flooding occurs downstream towards south Tulsa and Bixby. Large sections of Riverside Park in Tulsa are flooded. Riverside Drive in Tulsa may be impassable at some locations.
6. 19.00 ftminor flooding occurs between Sand Springs and Bixby. Agricultural lands are flooded and local access roads near the river may be flooded. Stretches of Riverside Park in Tulsa are flooded. The Town and Country neighnorhood west of Sand Springs starts to be impacted.
7. 18.00 ftminor flooding occurs downstream along the Arkansas River between south Tulsa and Bixby. Agricultural lands are flooded and local roads approaching the river may be impassable. The old Texas and Pacific Railroad between Bixby and Leonard is flooded. Portions of Riverside Park in Tulsa may be flooded.
8. 17.00 ftminor flooding of agricultural lands and sod farms occurs along the Arkansas River around Bixby. The old Texas and Pacific Railroad between Bixby and Leonard may be flooded.
9. 16.00 ftminor flooding of agricultural lands and sod farms may occur along the Arkansas River around Bixby.

Chance of flooding, September to November

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 21, 2026.

Most recent crests

• May 29, 2019: 23.51 ft
• May 14, 2019: 14.49 ft
• June 13, 1995: 15.90 ft
• May 14, 1993: 17.45 ft
• September 2, 1991: 5.45 ft
• March 14, 1990: 9.05 ft
• September 17, 1989: 9.27 ft
• April 6, 1988: 10.29 ft
• October 5, 1986: 25.21 ft
• October 21, 1985: 9.67 ft

• UpstreamArkansas River at Ralston
• DownstreamArkansas River at Haskell
• Arkansas River
• Joe Creek at Tulsa 6SSE / 61st St.
• Polecat Creek at Jenks
• Bird Creek at Sperry
• Bird Creek at Owasso
• Polecat Creek at Sapulpa
• Haikey Creek at Tulsa 12SE / 101st St. Bridge
• Eastern Oklahoma Lakes at Keystone Lake

Forecasts by the Arkansas-Red Basin RFC. Forecasts are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 24 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time.

Stage, flood stages, impacts and crest history from NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service. Streamflow and the daily record from the U.S. Geological Survey.