Name: Flood in Oklahoma, April 7 to 11, 2002
Start: 2002-04-07T22:00
End: 2002-04-11T18:00
Location: Oklahoma

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 Poteau River near Panama rose above its flood stage of 29 feet at 11 pm cdt on April 7th.The river crested at 40.6 feet at 5 am cdt on April 9th. The river fell below its flood stage on April 11th at 7 pm cdt.

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 Apr 7, 7:50 PM CST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 7, 7:50 PM CST, 2 hours 10 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
850 PM CDT SUN APR 7 2002

UPDATED TO EXPAND THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH NORTH OF WHERE THE AFTERNOON
PACKAGE HAD IT.  THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RAIN IS
STILL OVER WEST TEXAS AND RADAR SHOWS SIGNIFICANT RAIN INTO CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA AND NORTH TEXAS.  WITH THE CONTINUED RAINFALL ON TOP OF THE
2 TO 5 INCHES ALREADY RECEIVED IN THE NEW WATCH AREA FLOODING IS
LIKELY TO CONTINUE MUCH OF THE NIGHT.  THE REST OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA
WHICH IS OUTSIDE OF THE WATCH WILL ALSO SEE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL BUT
TOTALS IN THESE AREAS BOTH ALREADY AND FORECAST APPEAR TO BE MUCH
LESS THAN IN THE WATCH AREA.

.TSA...
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES
ARZ001>002...ARZ010>011...ARZ019>020...ARZ029.

OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES
OKZ049...OKZ053...OKZ065>076.

ABBAS

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 7, 6:01 PM CST, 3 hours 59 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-081200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
701 PM CDT SUN APR 7 2002

...UPDATE FOR POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...

.DISCUSSION...
SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WAS CENTERED WEST OF THE DALLAS/FORT
WORTH AREA THIS EVENING. A WARM FRONT EXTENDED EAST NORTHEAST
FROM THE SURFACE LOW ACROSS EXTREME NORTHERN TEXAS INTO CENTRAL
ARKANSAS. A 50 KNOT SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL JET WAS POSITIONED ACROSS
EASTERN TEXAS AND WESTERN LOUISIANA. THE POSITION OF THE LOW LEVEL
JET WAS NEARLY IDEAL TO MAXIMIZE ISENTROPIC LIFT NORTH OF THE
WARM FRONT.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING REPEATEDLY
IN AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT SINCE MID TO LATE
AFTERNOON. THE RESULT HAS BEEN SEVERAL BANDS OF VERY HEAVY
RAINFALL ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL
ARKANSAS.

WITH THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM STILL ACROSS EASTERN NEW MEXICO
THIS EVENING...THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SEVERAL MORE ROUNDS
OF THUNDERSTORMS AND VERY HEAVY RAIN ACROSS SOUTHEAST
OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS. LOCAL RAINFALL TOTALS IN THE
FAVORED AREAS NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT COULD REACH 6 TO 8
INCHES.

LATER TONIGHT...A DRY SLOT WRAPPING EAST AROUND THE UPPER
SYSTEM WILL BRING AN END TO THE WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL
ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Le Flore

When: April 7, 10:00 PM CST to April 11, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Le Flore forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, April 2002

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: 5290105.