Heat in Oklahoma, July 26 to 31, 1999

Name: Heat in Oklahoma, July 26 to 31, 1999
Start: 1999-07-26T19:00
End: 1999-07-31T11:00
Location: Oklahoma

July 26 to 31, 1999 · NWS OUN · 9 events in 5 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 8
Injuries: 1
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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 OUN wrote it up.

A period of very hot temperatures with highs ranging from the upper 90s to near 105 and lows ranging from the lower 70s to near 80, affected portions of central and southwest Oklahoma from July 26th through July 31st. Eight persons died, and 1 serious injury resulted from the excessive heat. The first fatality from the excessive heat occurred on the 27th, when a 57-year old man was found dead in his home in Norman in Cleveland County. Two persons died from the heat on the 28th, a 65-year old woman found dead in her home in Shawnee in Seminole County, and a 73-year old woman found dead in her front yard in Altus in Jackson County. She collapsed and died while mowing her lawn. Three fatalities resulted from the heat on the 30th. The first was in Ponca City in Kay County, where a 73-year old man was found dead in his home, while the 2nd and 3rd fatalities were reported in Oklahoma City (Oklahoma County), where 2 women, ages 84 and 85, were found dead in separate homes. The last 2 heat related fatalities occurred on the 31st and were also reported in Oklahoma City. An 86-year old woman and an 82-year old man were found dead in their own homes. Except for the fatality in Altus (Jackson County), the majority of persons who died from the heat owned an air conditioner, but it wasn't being used, and the windows of their homes were closed. The only known serious injury occurred on the 26th in Oklahoma City, when a 12-year boy suffered from heat stroke while playing football. He spent several days in the hospital in critical condition before being released.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Oklahoma

When: July 26, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Oklahoma forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.552, -97.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Cleveland

When: July 27, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Cleveland forecast zone
Deaths: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.203, -97.326 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Jackson

When: July 28, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.588, -99.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Pottawatomie

When: July 28, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Pottawatomie forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.207, -96.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Oklahoma

When: July 30, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Oklahoma forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.552, -97.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Oklahoma

When: July 30, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Oklahoma forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.552, -97.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Kay

When: July 30, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Kay forecast zone
Deaths: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.818, -97.144 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Oklahoma

When: July 31, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Oklahoma forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.552, -97.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Oklahoma

When: July 31, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Oklahoma forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.552, -97.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Heat, Cleveland	1999-07-31	82	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cleveland	1999-07-31	86	Female	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cleveland	1999-07-28	65	Female	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cleveland	1999-07-28	73	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct
Heat, Cleveland	1999-07-27	57	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Kay	1999-07-30	84	Female	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Kay	1999-07-30	85	Female	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Kay	1999-07-30	73	Male	Permanent Home	Direct

What these are

Heat: Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oklahoma in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, July 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5715079, 5715131, 5715130, 5715080, 5715074, 5715075, 5715076, 5715077, 5715078.