2 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind, 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 Jul 6, 2:30 PM CST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA 330 PM CDT SAT JUL 6 2002 CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON HAS BEEN EVEN MORE ISOLATED THAN FRIDAY WITH 10% COVERAGE AT BEST. WILL LIKELY ADD A REST OF THIS AFTERNOON PERIOD TO SOME ZONES TO HANDLE THE ONGOING ACTIVITY. OTHERWISE THE AIRMASS WILL DRY OUT A BIT MORE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS SO WILL MAINTAIN A DRY FORECAST THROUGH TUESDAY WITH AFTERNOON MAXIMUMS INCHING UP ABOUT ANOTHER DEGREE EACH DAY. BY TUESDAY... READINGS COULD BE NEAR THE CENTURY MARK IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF THE FORECAST AREA. STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY ON THE WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY WHICH MAY MAKE IT INTO THE AREA BEFORE WASHING OUT IN THE WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY TIMEFRAME. 84 HOUR ETA IS QUITE A BIT FURTHER NORTH THAN THE AVN/UKMET WITH THIS BOUNDARY ADDING TO THE UNCERTAINTY. FEEL IT IS BEST TO MAINTAIN THE LOW POPS AND SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES FOR NOW. LARGE RIDGE WILL REMAIN OVER THE ROCKIES INDEFINITELY. THIS PATTERN IS CONDUCIVE TO MAJOR HEAT IN OUR FORECAST AREA. WILL START INCHING MAXIMUMS UP AGAIN BY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AND TRIPLE DIGIT HEAT WILL BECOME PREVALENT SHORTLY THEREAFTER UNLESS THE RIDGE UNEXPECTEDLY BREAKS DOWN. SINCE THE TYPICALLY COLD GFS MODEL MAINTAINS THE RIDGE THROUGH 384 HOURS...WE SEE LITTLE HOPE FOR A BREAK IN THE HEAT. STAYED CLOSEST TO THE ETA MOS TEMPERATURES WHICH ARE MOST LOGICAL BASED ON PROGGED 1000/850 AND 1000/700 MILLIBAR THICKNESSES. TUL 76 97 74 98 / 5 5 5 5 FSM 74 97 72 98 / 5 5 5 5 MLC 72 95 70 96 / 5 5 5 5 BVO 70 97 68 98 / 5 5 5 5 FYV 67 93 65 94 / 5 5 5 5 BYV 68 94 66 94 / 5 5 5 5 MIO 73 95 70 96 / 5 5 5 5 MKO 72 97 70 98 / 5 5 5 5 F10 72 96 70 97 / 5 5 5 5 HHW 72 96 70 97 / 5 5 5 5 FORECAST ID= 5 .TSA... AR...NONE. OK...NONE. PLATE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a home and started a fire in the attic. Heavy smoke and water damage were common throughout the home. Six firefighters suffered heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation and two were admitted to the hospital.
Lightning struck a 32 year old woman and her 14 year old daughter while they were standing under a tree. They were in Wildwood Park on the shores of Ft. Gibson Lake near Hulbert. Both were taken by Lifeflight helicopter to Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa. The daughter fully recovered. The woman died at 530 am CDT the next morning.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a large tree. The tree blocked Highway 69.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Cherokee | 2002-07-07 | 32 | Female | Under Tree | Direct |
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, July 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: 5310736, 5310737, 5310735.