Flood, Creek
- When
- February 24, 5:00 AM CST to February 25, 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Creek forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 35.903, -96.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Oklahoma, February 24 to 25, 2001
The Polecat Creek near Sapulpa rose above its flood stage of 21 feet during the predawn hours on February 24. 6 feet during the evening hours on February 24 before falling below the flood stage on the morning of February 25.
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
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 Polecat Creek near Sapulpa rose above its flood stage of 21 feet during the predawn hours on February 24. The creek crested at 23.6 feet during the evening hours on February 24 before falling below the flood stage on the morning of February 25.
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 Feb 24, 2:45 AM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 2:45 AM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 245 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2001 ACTIVE WX PATTERN TODAY. CONVECTION CONTINUES THIS MORNING OVER NE OK. FA HAS ALREADY RECEIVED WIDESPREAD 1-2 INCHES WILL SOME MESONET SITES APPROACHING 3 INCHES IN EAST-CENTRAL OK. WITH ADDITIONAL STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS EXPECTED TODAY WILL CONTINUE WITH FLASH FLOOD WATCH. GIVEN GROUND IS ALREADY SATURATED WITH LOW FFG VALUES...ANY ADDITIONAL PRECIP WILL CAUSE FLOODING PROBLEMS. STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT AHEAD OF SFC LOW WILL ALSO PRODUCE STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS...HIGH ENOUGH TO WARRANT WIND ADVISORY. STRONG TO SEVERE CONVECTION MOVING INTO WESTERN SECTIONS OF OK ATTM. TSTM LINE WILL CONTINUE MOVING EAST THIS MORNING AS UPPER LOW BECOME NEG TILTED OVER OK. IMPRESSIVE UVV'S FORECAST OVER AREA IN ASSOCIATION WITH 130 KT SPEED MAX ROTATING AROUND BASE OF UPPER TROUGH. EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO MOVE INTO FA BY MID MORNING... MOVING THROUGH REMAINDER OF AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON. MODERATE INSTABILITIES AXIS FORECAST ALONG PACIFIC FRONT/DRY LINE (1500-2000 J/KG) WITH SOME VEERING OF STRONG LOW LEVEL WIND PROFILE WILL LIKELY SUPPORT SVR LEWP WITH MAIN THREAT BEING LARGE HAIL/DAMAGING WINDS. ISOLATED TORNADOES HOWEVER NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION WITH ANY DEVIATING/MERGING CELLS WITHIN LINE. TSTMS WILL MOVE EAST OF FA BY LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING AND WILL ONLY CARRY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS NW ARK ZONES 2ND PERIOD. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO REGION ON SUNDAY AND QUICKLY MOVE EAST ON MONDAY WITH RETURN FLOW SETTING BACK UP. STRONG COLD FRONT FORECAST TO MOVE THROUGH ON TUE WITH AVN TRYING TO GENERATE SOME FROZEN PRECIP INTO WED. 84HR ETA A LITTLE WARMER IN COMPARISON... WILL STILL HOWEVER LOWER TEMPS SOME IN THE EXTENDED WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SNOW LATE TUE/WED. FCSTID = 12 .PRELIMINARY NUMBERS... TUL TB 066/035 054/038 060 +10 FSM TB 068/039 056/037 061 +30 MLC TB 067/037 056/040 062 +10 BVO TB 065/034 053/037 060 +10 FYV TB 064/036 051/035 057 +30 BYV TB 064/036 050/034 057 +30 MIO TB 065/035 051/035 058 +10 MKO TB 067/035 054/039 061 +10 F10 TB 067/038 058/043 064 +10 HHW TB 070/040 059/044 065 +10 .TSA... .AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH...WIND ADVISORY TODAY FOR ZONES 1-2-10-11-19-20-29. .OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH...WIND ADVISORY TODAY FOR ZONES 49-53-54>76.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, February 24, 2001
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, February 24, 2001
- Tornado in Arkansas, February 24, 2001
- Tornado in Arkansas, February 24, 2001
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, February 24, 2001
- Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, February 24, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Texas, February 24, 2001
- Tornado in Arkansas, February 24, 2001
- Flash Flood in Kansas, February 24, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Illinois, February 24, 2001
- Tornado in Arkansas, February 24, 2001
- Tornado in Arkansas, February 24, 2001
More
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, February 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: 5235073.