Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, May 3 to 4, 1999

This tornado started out in central Lincoln County, travelling northeast and passing through the eastern Lincoln County town of Stroud. This tornado caused considerable damage in Stroud, most notably to the Tanger Factory Outlet Center. For more information on the Lincoln County portion of this tornado, refer to the Tornado entry for the Central and Western Oklahoma Storm Data compiled by the National Weather Service Office in Norman. This tornado continued on into Creek County, travelling on the ground for two miles before lifting just northwest of Milfay. This tornado reached F3 strength at its peak in Lincoln County but had started weakening by the time it entered Creek County. The path length listed with this Tornado entry only incorporates that part of the tornado path in Creek County. Fortunately in Creek County, the tornado travelled through an unpopulated rural area and was only responsible for tree damage.

A power pole was blown down between Hominy and Fairfax.

A power pole was blown down.

An F0 tornado moved through Sapulpa's central business district on Dewey Street, causing mostly cosmetic damage in the form of broken storefront windows and glass on the sidewalk.

The same system that earlier caused a destructive tornado in Stroud and a less destructive tornado in southwest Creek County produced an F1 tornado which first touched down in the north side of Sapulpa near OK Hwy 97 and Interstate 44. The tornado then skipped through an industrial area before moving across I-44. From there, the tornado travelled northeast parallel to and just south of the New Sapulpa Road (OK Hwy 66), taking out a string of homes and businesses before eventually reaching Tulsa County. This tornado tracked a total of 7 miles, 5.5 miles of which was in Creek County. The Hilton Mobile Home Park was especially hard-hit, where about 15 mobile homes were damaged or destroyed. Twenty-four residents of the mobile home park were treated on the scene for minor injuries, but none required a hospital visit. Needless to say, this tornado also blew down numerous power lines and trees. All in all, along its path in Creek County, this tornado heavily damaged 12 homes and caused light to moderate damage to about 150 others. Twenty mobile homes were heavily damaged, and 25 businesses were damaged. Total property damage in Creek County is estimated at $5.5 million. For more information on this tornado, see the Tulsa County Tornado entry for information on the last 1.5 miles of its track.

A tornado that originally touched down on the north side of Sapulpa traveled northeast, eventually reaching Tulsa County. This tornado caused considerable damage in several neighborhoods on the southwest side of the city of Tulsa. The majority of the damage was confined to an area roughly bounded on the east by 33rd West Avenue, on the west by 41st West Avenue, on the north by Union Avenue, and on the south by 65th Street South. The most publicized damage occurred at the Carbondale Assembly of God Church (2135 West 51st Street), where the second story of the building was reduced to rubble. Remington Elementary School (2524 W. 53rd Street) was damaged to the point where students had to finish the last two weeks of class elsewhere. The West Regional Library (2224 W. 51st Street) lost about one-third of its roof, and Fire Station #26 sustained minor damage. Four industrial businesses sustained damage, and 70 homes were damaged by the tornado. Damage in Tulsa County is estimated at $2 million. For more information on the Creek County portion of this tornado, see the Tornado entry for Creek County. The combined path length through Creek and Tulsa Counties is 7 miles.

A tree and several tree limbs were blown down.

There was street flooding in Chelsea. Water threatened businesses on Main Street in Chelsea.

The daily rainfall total for May 4 of 2.30 inches was the most rainfall ever recorded on May 4 and is therefore a new record daily rainfall for the date.

Location: I-44 at the Arkansas River

Many tree limbs were blown down.

Numerous trees were blown down.

There was a brief tornado touchdown south of Boynton.

An F1 tornado cut a swath through Cherokee County to the north and west of Hulbert. One mile north of OK Hwy 51 at a point two miles west of Hulbert, a house trailer was damaged, and trees and power lines were blown down. Three miles north of Hulbert near Blackbird Hill, numerous trees were uprooted, several sheds were destroyed, a mobile home was damaged, and roofs were torn off of several barns.

Two large tree limbs were blown down at the Zink Ranch.

Several roads in Dewar and Henryetta were closed between 230 AM and 500 AM CDT. Coal Creek overflowed its banks and closed OK Hwy 266 for a time around 1000 to 1030 AM CDT. Seven houses near the tennis courts on Lake Road had to be evacuated. A home on South Fourt in Henryetta was flooded.

Several tree limbs were blown down.

A newspaper clipping showed a picture of a large tree that fell on a home just west of Henryetta. Otherwise, numerous tree limbs were blown down.

A barn was about 75 percent destroyed.

Several large trees had their tops twisted out.

Lightning blew shingles from a house roof and caused a fire in the home's attic. The time of this event is a gross estimate.

A sheriff's deputy on patrol on US Hwy 69 near Baker's Catifish Restaurant had his car spun completely around by strong winds. The deputy reported that the car nearly turned over.

A brief F1 tornado touchdown caused many trees to be uprooted and broken.

Numerous large tree limbs were blown down.

There was a swath of tree damage stretching across Adair County from roughly Eldon in Cherokee County to Westville in Adair County.

An amateur radio spotter reported a brief tornado touchdown north of Hominy.

A large tree was blown over.

Roofs were blown off houses, windows were knocked out of buildings, four trailers were turned over, porches were knocked off houses, and numerous trees were blown down. Some of the worst damage occurred in Indian Camp.

Significant damage was reported at several farms and residences on the south side of Copan. There were a total of four houses that received chimney and roof damage. Three barns were either heavily damaged or destroyed. A well house was destroyed, and a well's utility pole was broken. Several outbuildings and sheds were either heavily damaged or destroyed, and numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. One tree fell on a pasture fence, destroying it. A travel trailer and pop-up trailer at separate residences were destroyed.

An F1 tornado touched down briefly near the Pushmataha/Pittsburg County line off of OK Hwy 43 in an unpopulated area 13 miles west of Clayton. After causing some tree damage, the tornado crossed briefly in Pittsburg County before lifting.

An F1 tornado touched down briefly near the Pittsburg/Pushmataha County line along OK Hwy 43. The tornado crossed the county line in an unpopulated area, causing only tree damage.

There was tree damage north of Yanush.

Several large tree limbs were blown down.

An F1 tornado touched down south of Panola and moved northeast to the Latimer-Haskell county line. Ths tornado continued to a point in extreme southern Haskell County about 2 miles south of Lequire. Near Panola, this tornado blew down large trees and power lines, and it caused roof damage. After Panola, the tornado primarily affected sparsely-populated hilly terrain.

Trees and power lines were blown down.

Trees were blown down.

An F1 tornado that started in Latimer County 2 miles south of Panola eventually moved across the Hasell-Latimer County line, downing numerous trees 2 miles south of Lequire in extreme southern Haskell County before this tornado lifted.

An F0 tornado touched down 2 miles southwest of McCurtain and tracked to south of Keota. Along the way, the tornado heavily damaged several barns, knocked down numerous power lines, and uprooted numerous trees. The McCurtain area was especially hard-hit with numerous downed trees that blocked several roadways.

Location: Heyburn Lake

OK Hwy 20 near Claremore was closed with two feet of water over the roadway. In Chelsea, water seeped into businesses and over OK Hwy 66. US Hwy 169 between Talala and Oologah was closed for a time when the roadway became covered by two feet of water. A medical clinic in Oolagah had nearly three feet of water inside.

An F1 tornado touchdown in Cowlington. The tornado damaged eight single-family homes, destroyed two mobile homes, and damaged two trailers. A mattress was lodged in a tree behind a mobile home in which its roof was peeled back. The tornado also uprooted several trees.

In Collinsville, the intersection of 5th and Main Streets had to be closed when two to three feet of water came quickly rushing onto the road. Water was one to two feet deep inside two downtown Collinsville businesses. Several businesses along 146th Street North also closed.High water flooded quite a few streets in the city of Tulsa.OK Hwy 11 north and south of Skiatook was closed by high water.

Creeks around Nowata ran over some roads.

An F1 tornado touchdown south of Akins destroyed several barns, damaged several house roofs, and caused extensive tree damage. One house had half of its roof crushed by a tree, and outbuildings and a tractor shed were destroyed. Another home was damaged by trees and blowing debris, and a mobile home was moved off of its foundation. Another mobile home was crushed by a tree.

A significant long-track tornado first touched down in Sequoyah County 4 miles west of Short, travelling northeast for 39 miles to a point about 7 miles southwest of Fayetteville, AR. This tornado eventually reached its peak as an F3 tornado in extreme southeast Adair County. In Sequoyah County, this tornado travelled across a sparsely-populated part of the county, causing mostly tree damage. Property damage listed with this entry is just for the portion of the tornado in Sequoyah County, while the F-rating reflects the peak strength of the tornado in Adair County.

A significant long-track tornado first touched down in Sequoyah County 4 miles west of Short, moving northeast for 39 miles to a point about 7 miles southwest of Fayetteville, AR. This tornado clipped the extreme southeast portion of Adair County as the tornado reached its peak strength as an F3 tornado. Fortunately, the tornado travelled across an unpopulated portion of Adair County. However, an aerial survey by NWS personnel over extreme southeast Adair County revealed that every tree in a hardwood forest was completely leveled.

Several large tree limbs were blown down in Tahlequah, and a large tree was blown down across a road 4 miles east of Tahlequah.

Location: on the southwest side of Muskogee

Trees and power lines were blown down.

An estimated 5 to 8 inches of rain in a short time caused Big Cabin Creek on the west side of Vinita and Bull Creek on the east side of Vinita to overflow their banks and enter 54 homes. Water was five feet deep in some homes. 30 homes were evacuated. The hardest-hit areas were located along North Second to North Fourth Streets, near Sequoyah and Tahlequah. According to the police chief, all of the homes around North Second Street were devastated. Later in the evening, water from Bull Creek drained into Big Cabin Creek, flooding out several homes in the Westwood area. Long-time residents say that the last time Bull Creek flooded any homes was in 1961, though they said the flooding this time was much more serious. Property damage was estimated at $4 million. Swift-moving floodwater from Bull Creek swept a pickup truck off of Eastern State Road.All four lanes of US Hwy 60 were closed by high water 1/2 mile west of Vinita. There were also reports of flooding around Welch.

Several roads in Tahlequah were closed. One house and a day care center near the intersection of Tahlequah-North Wilson each took in about 5 inches of water. Baker Road near OK Hwy 51 was closed for a time.

There was street flooding in Hartshorne.

Tree limbs were blown down in Fort Towson. One large tree limb fell on a historical home.

Several county roads were flooded.

Several homes had water damage in Miami when Tar Creek overflowed its banks. Residents of the Scotty Court area were evacuated after Tar Creek began rising. The baseball diamond at Northeast Oklahoma A&M was badly damaged when 3 feet of water covered the field. In Commerce, 20 homes and businesses, including city hall, were flooded. In Quapaw, floodwaters entered a nursing home. At Wyandotte, Fairland, and Afton, roads were closed in each of those communities. Up to 20 streets at one time were closed in Miami, particularly north of town.

There was street flooding, and one street had to be closed.

Windows were blown out of a brick house, a large old tree was uprooted, and a pontoon boat was tossed from its trailer.

Lightning lit fire to and destroyed a new home in the Grand Prarie Estates west of Pryor. The time in this entry is a very rough estimate.

Several roads were closed due to high water.

Water covered several county roads.

Several large tree limbs were blown down in Bengal.

Low-water crossings were flooded near Grove.

Water was over a low-water crossing near Baron and Westville.

A bridge in Zoe was completely washed out. Other county roads were flooded near Page.

Four power poles and a shed were blown down.

Several large tree limbs were blown down, one of which fell through a porch.