Flood in Oklahoma, June 6, 2002

Name: Flood in Oklahoma, June 6, 2002
Start: 2002-06-06T02:00
End: 2002-06-06T21:00
Location: Oklahoma

June 6, 2002 · NWS TSA · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Poteau River near Panama rose above its flood stage of 29 feet at 3 am cdt on June 6th. 7 feet the same day before falling below its flood stage at 10 pm cdt that evening.

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 3 am cdt on June 6th. The river crested at 29.7 feet the same day before falling below its flood stage at 10 pm cdt that evening.

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 Jun 6, 1:20 AM CST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 6, 1:20 AM CST, 40 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
220 AM CDT THU JUN 6 2002

MAIN CONCERN IN THE NEAR TERM WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR FOG THRU THE
MID-MORNING. LATEST IR IMAGERY REVEALS PATCHY LOW CLOUDS OVER
CNTRL/SE OK...WITH T/TD SPREADS AROUND 1-2 DEGREES PER LATEST SFC
ANALYSIS. HAVE ONLY SEEN LIGHT FOG SO FAR...AND PLAN ON MENTIONING
PATCHY FOG IN THE ZONES. NOT ANTICIPATING AN ADVISORY AT THIS
TIME...BUT WILL OBVIOUSLY KEEP AN EYE ON FOG THE REMAINDER OF THE
NIGHT.

OTHERWISE...EXPECT SKIES TO BECOME MOSTLY SUNNY LATER THIS MORNING
AS MAIN TROF AXIS SHIFTS OFF TO THE E. ETA MOS HAS DROPPED BACK IN
CLOSER AGREEMENT WITH MAV/FWC FOR HIGHS TODAY...AND GENERALLY STUCK
CLOSE TO GUIDANCE. PLEASANT OVERNIGHT LOWS AND SEASONABLY WARM
AFTERNOON TEMPS ARE ON TAP THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS SFC RIDGE AXIS WILL
BE SLOW TO EXIT THE FORECAST AREA. AGAIN...GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOK
OK...BUT DID GO CLOSER TO COOLER MAV FOR FRIDAY NIGHT.

RETURN FLOW KICKS IN BY SATURDAY AS DEEP UPPER TROF SETS UP OVER THE
WRN STATES. LOW POPS LOOK GOOD FOR LATER SUNDAY AND MONDAY...WITH
BETTER CHANCES MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY AS SFC BOUNDARY MOVES
ACROSS THE SRN PLAINS.

FCST ID ==> 18

PRELIM NUMBERS...
TUL  83  61  85  62 /   0   0   0   0
FSM  84  59  85  60 /   0   0   0   0
MLC  82  60  86  62 /   0   0   0   0
BVO  83  58  86  61 /   0   0   0   0
FYV  78  53  82  56 /   0   0   0   0
BYV  78  52  82  56 /   0   0   0   0
MIO  81  57  84  60 /   0   0   0   0
MKO  83  60  85  62 /   0   0   0   0
F10  82  61  85  62 /   0   0   0   0
HHW  84  62  86  62 /   0   0   0   0

.TSA...

AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Le Flore

When: June 6, 2:00 AM CST to 9:00 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

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, June 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: 5300373.