Oklahoma, 1999

Flood and Hail in Oklahoma, January 30, 1999

January 30, 1999 · NWS TSA · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

Summary of events for January 30 1999:A low pressure system stacked from the surface into the upper levels slowly moved over northwest Texas on January 30. On the northeast side of the low, there was a conveyor belt of rain, embedded thunderstorms, and strong gradient winds across eastern Oklahoma on the morning of January 30.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 TSA wrote it up.

Summary of events for January 30 1999:A low pressure system stacked from the surface into the upper levels slowly moved over northwest Texas on January 30. On the northeast side of the low, there was a conveyor belt of rain, embedded thunderstorms, and strong gradient winds across eastern Oklahoma on the morning of January 30. With surface temperatures in the 40s across eastern Oklahoma, it did not take much for the embedded thunderstorms to produce hail, some of it marginally severe.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Pittsburg

When
January 30, 2:35 AM CST
Where
Pittsburg County, Mc Alester
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.930, -95.770

Hail, Tulsa

When
January 30, 8:48 AM CST to 8:52 AM CST
Where
Tulsa County, Broken Arrow
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
36.050, -95.780

At 848 AM, one off-duty NWS employee reported nickel-sized hail in Broken Arrow. A few minutes later at 852 AM, another off-duty NWS employee reported quarter-sized hail 5 miles northwest of Broken Arrow with the same storm.

Flood, Tulsa

When
January 30, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Tulsa County, Tulsa
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
36.121, -95.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rains filled Fry Ditch Creek past its banks. The water spilled over South Sheridan Road at 96th Street, causing firefighters to close the street for a time. Most areas around Tulsa saw between one and two inches of rain late on the morning and early on the afternoon of January 30, 1999.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, January 1999

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: 5678856, 5678855, 5678857.