6 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
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 Aug 24, 8:32 PM CST, 4 hours 58 minutes earlier.
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA 930 PM SAT AUG 24 2002 TRICKY FIRST PERIOD AS FAR AS POPS GO. SURFACE BOUNDARY THIS EVENING EXTENDS FROM WEST CENTRAL TO SE OK. LOOKS LIKE THE MAIN PLAYER FOR SRN ZONES TONIGHT MAY BE STORMS CURRENTLY ACROSS THE TX PANHANDLE/NW OK THAT HAD DEVELOPED IN THE VICINITY OF THE BOUNDARY AND ARE PUSHING TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST. OTHER STORMS...MORE ELEVATED IN NATURE HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS KANSAS AND MISSOURI THOUGH CURRENTLY REMAIN NORTH OF THE FA. WILL LEAVE POPS AS THEY ARE GIVEN CURRENT RADAR TRENDS AND PROXIMITY OF BOUNDARY. CURRENTLY ADVERTISED LOWS LOOK REASONABLE. WILL NOT ISSUE AN UPDATE AT THIS TIME...THOUGH WILL MONITOR TEMPERATURE AND CONVECTIVE TRENDS FOR POSSIBLE UPDATE TOWARDS MIDNIGHT. FORECAST ID= 23 .TSA... AR...NONE. OK...NONE.
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-251200- EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 845 PM CDT SAT AUG 24 2002 ...CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT... A STATIONARY SURFACE BOUNDARY EXTENDED FROM NEAR OKLAHOMA CITY TO JUST NORTH OF MCALESTER TO SOUTH OF FORT SMITH. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP NEAR THE BOUNDARY ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP NEAR THE BOUNDARY ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA LATER THIS EVENING AS LIFTING INCREASES AHEAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM. A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY IN AREAS SOUTH OF A LINE FROM TULSA TO FORT SMITH...COULD BECOME SEVERE TONIGHT AND PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE AIRMASS IS SLIGHTLY MORE STABLE IN AREAS NORTH OF A TULSA TO FORT SMITH LINE...SO LESS INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST IN THESE AREAS. .SPOTTER ACTIVATION... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BY MIDNIGHT ACROSS PARTS OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN ARKANSAS. .DISCUSSION... CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED BY MIDNIGHT AS WARM ADVECTION LIFT INCREASES ALONG AND NORTH OF THE SURFACE BOUNDARY. ELEVATED INSTABILITIES OF 2500 J/KG AND MID LEVEL NORTHWESTERLY WINDS INCREASING TO OVER 30 KNOTS SUPPORT THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS...BUT THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. STRONG DIVERGENCE IN THE LEFT FRONT QUADRANT OF AN 80 KNOT UPPER JET WILL MOVE ACROSS EXTREME NORTHERN OKLAHOMA AND THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF ARKANSAS TONIGHT. THIS UPPER SUPPORT IS NORMALLY FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT...BUT INSTABILITY IS LOWER IN THIS AREA SINCE EARLIER CONVECTION HAD A STABILIZING EFFECT. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE...BUT THE MORE ORGANIZED ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN FURTHER SOUTH NEAR THE SURFACE BOUNDARY. RISK TABLE VALID THROUGH 1200 UTC SUNDAY AREA 1...ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM TULSA TO FORT SMITH THUNDERSTORM PROBABILITY...90 SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...50 SIGNIFICANT SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...30 AREA 2...NORTH OF A LINE FROM TULSA TO FORT SMITH THUNDERSTORM PROBABILITY...100 SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...20 SIGNIFICANT SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...10 RISK AREAS DEFINE THE GREATEST RISK. PROBABILITIES ARE IN PERCENT. SIGNIFICANT SEVERE IS DEFINED AS F1 OR GREATER WIND/TORNADO DAMAGE AND/OR GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL OR LARGER. .OTHER HAZARDS... LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING AS SEVERAL ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS AFFECT THE AREA. RELATED GRAPHICAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT: WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
113 AM CDT SUN AUG 25 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1030 PM SKEDEE OK .88 INCH HAIL
08/24/02 PAWNEE REPORTED BY
PUBLIC
1145 PM OILTON OK .88 INCH HAIL
08/24/02 CREEK REPORTED BY
PUBLIC
1220 AM OILTON OK 1.00 INCH HAIL
08/25/02 CREEK REPORTED BY
SPOTTERS
1220 AM 6 ESE OILTON OK 66 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
08/25/02 CREEK RECORDED BY OKLAHOMA
MESONET
1240 AM DRUMRIGHT OK WIND DAMAGE
08/25/02 CREEK TREES BLOWN DOWN.
REPORTED
BY OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY
PATROL
1258 AM 5 NW BRISTOW OK 1.25 INCH HAIL
08/25/02 CREEK REPORTED BY
SPOTTERSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
151 AM CDT SUN AUG 25 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0128 AM 1 N DEPEW OK 1.75 INCH HAIL
08/25/02 CREEK REPORTED BY
SPOTTERSThe Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 31 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:32 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a tree. The tree fell on a home and severely damaged it.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down trees in the north part of Fort Smith. The trees blocked several roads.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a few trees.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour damaged a few poultry houses.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a few trees.
Lightning struck the Sheriff's Office. The lightning caused severe damage including the loss of the 911 system.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, August 2002
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: 5313076, 5313077, 5313078, 5313079, 5313080, 5313144, 5313145.