Oklahoma, 2001

Flood in Oklahoma, December 17 to 18, 2001

December 17 to 18, 2001 · NWS TSA · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Illinois River near Tahlequah rose above its flood stage of 11 feet at 2 pm cst on December 17. 0 feet at 10 am cst on December 18 before falling below its flood stage at 10 pm the same day.

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.

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  • 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
1

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.

The Illinois River near Tahlequah rose above its flood stage of 11 feet at 2 pm cst on December 17. The river crested at 14.0 feet at 10 am cst on December 18 before falling below its flood stage at 10 pm the same day.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 17, 9:55 AM CST, 4 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 17, 9:55 AM CST, 4 hours 5 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
955 AM CST MON DEC 17 2001

UPPER SYSTEM IS PULLING AWAY AND DRY AIR IS SETTLING INTO THE AREA.
WILL MAKE A FEW ADJUSTMENTS IN FORECAST TO BRING IT UP TO DATE WITH
THE RAPIDLY CLEARING CLOUDS AND PRECIP.  WILL TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT
DEWPOINT TEMPS FOR FORESTRY AS THE GRADIENT OF DRY AIR IS QUITE
STRONG.  WILL PROBABLY LEAVE TEMPS AS FORECAST...BUT MAKE SOME
ADJUSTMENT TO DECREASE THE WINDS ESPECIALLY LATER IN THE AFTERNOON.
FD WINDS ALOFT FORECASTS ONLY ABOUT 15 KNOTS OVER TUL AND 16 KNOTS
OVER FSM AT 3K FT. DO NOT EXPECT THOSE WINDS TO MIX DOWN MUCH.

FCSTID = 2

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.

TAYLOR

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 17, 11:24 AM CST, 2 hours 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1224 PM CDT MON DEC 17 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0430 PM    1 E ANTLERS               OK    FLOOD
12/16/01   PUSHMATAHA                      ETHEL ROAD COVERED BY
                                           HIGH WATER.  ANTLERS CD
Local storm report, Dec 17, 12:38 PM CST, 1 hour 22 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1224 PM CDT MON DEC 17 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0430 PM    1 E ANTLERS               OK    FLOOD
12/16/01   PUSHMATAHA                      ETHEL ROAD COVERED BY
                                           HIGH WATER.  ANTLERS CD
Local storm report, Dec 17, 12:56 PM CST, 1 hour 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
156 PM CDT MON DEC 17 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0300 AM    5 S KINGSTON              AR    FLOOD
12/16/01   MADISON                         COUNTY ROAD FLOODED BY
                                           FALCONS CREEK OVERFLOW
                                           MADISON OES

0400 AM    5 S BERRYVILLE            AR    FLOOD
12/16/01   CARROLL                         COUNTY ROAD FLOODED.
                                           CARROLL SO

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Cherokee

When
December 17, 2:00 PM CST to December 18, 10:00 PM CST
Where
Cherokee forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
35.907, -95.000 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, December 2001

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: 5275165.