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 13, 9:45 AM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA 1045 AM CDT TUE AUG 13 2002 SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE MAINLY ACROSS AREAS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40 THIS MORNING WITH THE SURFACE COLD FRONT BISECTING OK FROM NE TO SW. 12Z UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SHOWS A STRONG UPPER JET STREAK FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST. AREA PROFILERS REVEAL GOOD DIVERGENCE IN RIGHT REAR QUADRANT OF THIS JET WITH LATEST GUIDANCE SUGGESTING ADDITIONAL CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON IN RESPONSE TO THIS FEATURE. ADDITIONAL LOW LEVEL FOCUS WILL COME WITH FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND WILL MENTION HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL FOR AREAS ALONG AND JUST NORTH OF EXPECTED AFTERNOON BOUNDARY POSITION. UPDATE WILL UP POPS OVER ALL BUT FAR SOUTHEAST AND ADJUST TEMPS (MAINLY DOWNWARD) WITH RAIN COOLED AIR AND EXPANSIVE CLOUD COVER. NO CHANGES PLANNED FOR LATER PERIODS. FORECAST ID = 07 .TSA... AR...NONE. OK...NONE.
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-141200- EASTERN OKLAHOMA / NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 100 PM CDT TUE AUG 13 2002 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS... THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG A SOUTHWARD MOVING COLD FRONT. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL BE LOCATED ALONG AND JUST NORTH OF THE FRONT. ABUNDANT CLOUD COVER HAS REDUCED THE OVERALL RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER...HOWEVER A FEW OF THE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS. THE FAVORED AREA FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WILL BE ACROSS AREAS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40...ESPECIALLY FAR SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA. LOCATIONS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40 WILL EXPERIENCE OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS...WITH THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER DIMINISHING AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES FURTHER SOUTH. .SPOTTER ACTIVATION... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED IN SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THROUGH THIS EVENING...PRIMARILY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40. .DISCUSSION... THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG THE SURFACE COLD FRONT AS IT STEADILY MOVES SOUTHWARD. CLOUD COVER HAS REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF SURFACE HEATING AHEAD OF THE FRONT KEEPING INSTABILITIES LIMITED. WIND FIELDS CURRENTLY REMAIN MARGINALLY FAVORABLE FOR STORM ORGANIZATION...HOWEVER AS AN UPPER STORM SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS EVENING THERE WILL BE CHANCE FOR STORM INTENSIFICATION WITH DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY THREAT. AREAS NORTH OF THE SURFACE FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO SEE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP AS THE AREA REMAINS UNDER FAVORABLE UPPER JET DYNAMICS. RISK TABLE VALID THROUGH 1200 UTC WEDNESDAY AREA 1...SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 THUNDERSTORM PROBABILITY...100 SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...40 SIGNIFICANT SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...05 AREA 2...NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40 THUNDERSTORM PROBABILITY...100 SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...10 SIGNIFICANT SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...<05 RISK AREAS DEFINE THE GREATEST RISK. PROBABILITIES ARE IN PERCENT. SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER IS DEFINED AS F1 OR GREATER WIND/TORNADO DAMAGE AND/OR GOLFBALL SIZE OR LARGER HAIL. RELATED GRAPHICAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT... WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 53 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:59 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning started a few fires in the Panama area around midday. A small storage shed was struck and burned. Another bolt of lightning struck the roof of a two story house. The roof and the upper floor of the house sustained severe damage.
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: 5313149.