Heat, Tulsa
- When
- July 16, 12:00 PM CST to July 26, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Tulsa forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 36.121, -95.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Oklahoma, July 16 to 26, 2001
During the middle of July strong high pressure in the upper atmosphere became anchored over the south central part of the United States. This high pressure brought extreme heat to parts of northeast Oklahoma.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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.
During the middle of July strong high pressure in the upper atmosphere became anchored over the south central part of the United States. This high pressure brought extreme heat to parts of northeast Oklahoma. At the Tulsa International Airport eight days out of eleven from July 16 to July 26 had high temperatures above 100. Meanwhile, on six of those days the low temperature did not fall below 80. Humidity was also a problem with dew points generally in the lower to mid 70s. This resulted in afternoon heat indexes around 115. Over the time period several people were treated for heat related illnesses. One man in rural Pawnee county died from heat stroke on July 17.
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 Jul 16, 9:20 AM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 16, 9:20 AM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 1020 AM CDT MON JUL 16 2001 UPDATED FORECAST TO REFLECT MCS MOVING SLOWLY AWAY FROM CWA THIS AFTERNOON. SHOULD SEE SOME SUNSHINE BY MID-AFTERNOON IN WRN 1/2 WITH LINGERING CLOUDS UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON ELSEWHERE. FCST TEMPS LOOKS GOOD. TEMPS SHOULD REACH UPPER 80S AT LEAST WHEN SUN COMES OUT...MAY HAVE TO UPDATE AGAIN IF CLOUDS BREAK SOONER. WILL LOOK AT CHC OF TSRA LATE TONIGHT THIS AFTERNOON. CAP PROGGED TO BUILD EVEN MORE TODAY AND TONIGHT...SO CONVECTION WILL HAVE A HARD TIME DEVELOPING TO THE WEST LIKE IT DID YESTERDAY. COULD SEE ISOLATED ELEVATED ACTIVITY ABOVE THE CAP BUT USUALLY NEED STG WARM FRONT OR OUTFLOW BOUNDARY TO GENERATE ENOUGH LIFT. WINDS SHOULD VEER TO SLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. 06Z ETA/MESOETA PROGS CONVECTION INITIATING ACROSS ERN ZONES BETWEEN 12 AND 18Z TOMORROW WHICH IS THE LEAST COMMON TIME OF DAY FOR CONVECTIVE INITIATION. USUALLY SEE STORMS DEVELOP OVERNIGHT BEFORE 12Z IN THIS PATTERN. FCSTID = 26 .TSA... AR...NONE. OK...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 10:50 AM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-171100- EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 1150 AM CDT MON JUL 16 2001 ...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT OVER MAINLY NORTHWEST ARKANSAS... LATE THIS MORNING...A LARGE CLUSTER OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAD MOVED EAST OF THE AREA WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS EXPECTED TO END OVER NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BY MID AFTERNOON. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS AGAIN EXPECTED TONIGHT...BUT IT WILL BE MAINLY NORTH AND EAST OF THE AREA. NORTHWEST ARKANSAS WILL HAVE THE GREATEST CHANCE AT SEEING AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. ANY STORMS THAT CAN DEVELOP OVERNIGHT ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LIMITS. .SPOTTER ACTIVATION... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. .DISCUSSION... WARM AIR ALOFT IS EXPECTED TO PREVENT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON. MCS DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED TO BE NORTHEAST OF THE AREA TONIGHT BUT A FEW ISOLATED STORMS MAY DEVELOP...AS WARM AIR ADVECTION CONTINUES IN THE 700 MB TO 850 MB LAYER. THIS FORCING WILL BE GREATEST OVER NORTHWEST ARKANSAS AFTER MIDNIGHT. ELEVATED INSTABILITY WILL BE LIMITED AND IS EXPECTED TO PREVENT SEVERE STORM DEVELOPMENT. RELATED GRAPHICAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT... WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Creek
- When
- July 16, 12:00 PM CST to July 26, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Creek forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 35.903, -96.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Osage
- When
- July 16, 12:00 PM CST to July 26, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Osage forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Heat, Pawnee
- When
- July 16, 12:00 PM CST to July 26, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Pawnee forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 36.317, -96.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Washington
- When
- July 16, 12:00 PM CST to July 26, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 36.715, -95.904 (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, Pawnee | 2001-07-17 | 43 | Male | Other | 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
- Rip Current in Florida, July 16, 2001
- Hail in Nebraska, July 16, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Nebraska, July 16, 2001
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, July 16, 2001
- Tornado in Nebraska, July 16, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, July 16, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Nebraska, July 16, 2001
- Flash Flood in Arizona, July 16 to 17, 2001
- High Surf in Hawaii, July 16 to 20, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, July 16, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 16, 2001
- Extreme Cold in Oregon, July 16 to 17, 2001
More
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, July 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: 5260592, 5260593, 5260594, 5260595, 5260596.