Oklahoma, 1998

Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, March 18 to 19, 1998

March 18 to 19, 1998 · NWS AMA · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system in the upper atmosphere moved across the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles ushering in much colder and more moist air into the Oklahoma Panhandle. Snowfall totals from this powerful storm system ranged from seven to nine inches across Beaver county to between eight and eleven inches across Texas and Cimarron counties.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS AMA wrote it up.

A strong low pressure system in the upper atmosphere moved across the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles ushering in much colder and more moist air into the Oklahoma Panhandle. Snowfall totals from this powerful storm system ranged from seven to nine inches across Beaver county to between eight and eleven inches across Texas and Cimarron counties. Several roads and highways in and around Guymon were closed due to the heavy snow.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Cimarron

When
March 18, 10:00 PM CST to March 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Cimarron forecast zone
Coordinates
36.748, -102.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Texas

When
March 18, 10:00 PM CST to March 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Texas forecast zone
Coordinates
36.748, -101.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Beaver

When
March 18, 10:00 PM CST to March 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Beaver forecast zone
Coordinates
36.750, -100.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, March 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5639562, 5639563, 5639564.