1 lightning, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 13, 4:25 PM CST, 2 hours 35 minutes earlier.
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA 525 PM CDT TUE AUG 13 2002 UPDATING CURRENT FORECAST TO REFLECT A BETTER CHANCE OF RAIN TONIGHT. WILL GO LIKELY EVERYWHERE THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE THE LIKELY WORDING DURING THE REST OF THE NIGHT IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST AKANSAS. WILL TAPER RAIN CHANCES TO THE CHANCE CATEGORY FOR NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA LATER TONIGHT WHICH WILL GIVE ME A MAINLY EARLY WORDING IN THE ZONES. FRONT STILL ONLY ABOUT HALF WAY ACROSS THE AREA AND THE MAIN UPPER TROUGH IS STILL FURTHER TO THE WEST. MAY DECIDE TO ADD SOME MORE POPS IN PLACES FOR TOMORROW MORNING LATER THIS EVENING. .TSA... AR...NONE. OK...NONE. ABBAS
OKZ049-053-065-066-070>076-140200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 715 PM CDT TUE AUG 13 2002 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #604 HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...MUSKOGEE...OKMULGEE...OKFUSKEE...SEQUOYAH...MCINTOSH AND HASKELL... SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #604 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CDT FOR...LE FLORE...PITTSBURG...LATIMER...PUSHMATAHA AND CHOCTAW COUNTIES... WHILE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING...THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY STAY TO THE SOUTH OF A MCALESTER TO WILBURTON TO POTEAU LINE. THUS...THE WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR POINTS TO THE NORTH OF THIS LINE.
The Tulsa radar (KINX), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:00 UTC.
1 lightning, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning started a fire at a tank battery of a petroleum company. The fire spread from the tank it first struck and ultimately destroyed nine steel and fiberglass tanks.
Thunderstorms produced 3.11 inches of rain at Pawnee within a few hours. This rain caused water to flow over Skedee Road near the intersection of Highways 18 and 64.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, 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: 5312902, 5312901.