Flood, Cherokee
- When
- April 9, 12:00 AM CST to 11:00 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)
Flood in Oklahoma, April 9, 2002
The Illinois River near Tahlequah rose above its flood stage of 11 feet at 1 am cdt on April 9th. 0 feet at 4 pm cdt 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.
- 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 Illinois River near Tahlequah rose above its flood stage of 11 feet at 1 am cdt on April 9th. The river crested at 14.0 feet at 4 pm cdt the same day. The river fell below its flood stage at midnight that night.
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 8, 8:10 PM CST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 8, 8:10 PM CST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 910 PM CDT MON APR 8 2002 SOME CLEARING WORKING ITS WAY THOUGH NORTH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA. EXPECT IT TO WORK INTO OUR AREA AS WELL. WRAP AROUND RAIN HAS NOT ENDED IN THE ZONES THAT WOULD BE FIRST TO CLEAR YET. WILL WAIT FOR THE RAIN TO CLEAR THE NORTHWEST ZONES BEFORE UPDATING AGAIN. TEMP WISE... GOING LOWS DO NOT LOOK TOO BAD IF DRYING WORKS IN WITH NORTH WINDS AND SOME CLEARING OCCURS. .TSA... AR...NONE. OK...NONE. ABBAS
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 8, 6:25 PM CST, 5 hours 35 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-091200- EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 725 PM CDT MON APR 8 2002 ...UPDATE FOR EVENING TRENDS...... AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST AND WEAKEN TONIGHT. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL FROM THE WEAKENING SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN LIGHT...WITH MOST AMOUNTS TOTALING AROUND ONE TENTH OF AN INCH. A FEW AREAS ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...INCLUDING PUSHMATAHA...CHOCTAW...AND LE FLORE COUNTIES...COULD RECEIVE A QUARTER OF AN INCH OF RAIN FROM SOME HEAVIER SHOWERS THIS EVENING. RIVER FLOODING WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT AS HEAVY RAINS OVER THE PAST 48 HOURS HAVE CREATED HIGH LEVELS ON RIVERS AND STREAMS. FLOOD STATEMENTS /OKCFLSTUL/ WILL BE ISSUED THAT GIVE DETAILS ON RIVER FLOODING.
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
More
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5290103.