Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, March 19 to 20, 2002

Name: Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, March 19 to 20, 2002
Start: 2002-03-19T09:50
End: 2002-03-20T03:00
Location: Oklahoma

March 19 to 20, 2002 · NWS TSA · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

3 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $100,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 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 Mar 19, 4:00 AM CST, 5 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 19, 4:00 AM CST, 5 hours 50 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
400 AM CST TUE MAR 19 2002

FRONTAL BOUNDARY REMAINS NEARLY STATIONARY THIS MORNING FROM NEAR
THE AR/LA BORDER INTO EAST TEXAS...THEN DOWN TOWARD THE BIG BEND
AREA IN WEST TEXAS.  AREA RADARS CONTINUING TO SHOW WIDESPREAD RAIN
AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING NORTH OF THE BOUNDARY.  SOUTHWESTERLY
MID/UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL KEEP THE PRECIP TRAINING UP ACROSS THE
AREA TODAY...SO WILL LEAVE FLASH FLOOD WATCH AS IS.  WATCH IS NICELY
ALIGNED WITH AREAS THAT HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL
OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS (GENERALLY 2-4 INCHES).  WATCH WILL LIKELY
NEED TO BE EXTENDED INTO TONIGHT MAINLY IN SOUTHERN AREAS...BUT WILL
LEAVE THAT TO THE DISCRETION OF THE DAY SHIFT WHEN THREAT AREA CAN
BE BETTER DEFINED FOR TONIGHT.  WILL LIKELY BE ABLE TO TRIM AWAY
COUNTIES IN THE NORTH.

WATER VAPOR LOOP THIS MORNING SHOWING UPPER SYSTEM JUST NOW ENTERING
FAR WEST TEXAS...AND AVN MOVES SYSTEM ACROSS TEXAS TO THE AR/LA/TX
REGION BY 00Z THURSDAY.  WILL THEREFORE KEEP HIGH POPS GOING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY...ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTH...BEFORE CUTTING PRECIP OFF
WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

CLOUDS/PRECIP WILL KEEP A SHORT RANGE ON TEMPS...AND WILL GENERALLY
FOLLOW A BLEND OF GUIDANCE NUMBERS.  WILL NOT MAKE ANY BIG CHANGES
TO THE EXTENDED PART OF THE FORECAST...OTHER THAN TO HOLD OFF ON
PRECIP OVER THE WEEKEND TILL SUNDAY.

FCSTID = 4
TUL   56  43  60  40 / 100  60  20  10
FSM   58  50  60  40 / 100  80  40  10
MLC   59  48  60  41 / 100  80  40  10
BVO   56  42  60  37 /  80  50  10  10
FYV   54  47  57  37 / 100  60  30  10
BYV   53  45  56  37 / 100  60  30  10
MIO   56  39  58  38 / 100  60  20  10
MKO   56  46  60  40 / 100  60  30  10
F10   56  46  59  39 / 100  60  30  10
HHW   61  51  57  40 / 100  80  40  10

.TSA...
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY FOR ZONES
ARZ001>002...ARZ010>011...ARZ019>020...ARZ029.

OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY FOR ZONES
OKZ049...OKZ053...OKZ068>076.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 19, 6:00 AM CST, 3 hours 50 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-201200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
600 AM CST TUE MAR 19 2002

...FLASH FLOODING AND RIVER FLOODING ARE LIKELY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...

HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT MUCH OF THE AREA THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FOR TODAY. THE WATCH MAY
BE EXTENDED INTO WEDNESDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD
STATEMENT /OKCFLSTUL/ FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.

A FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDED ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS THIS
MORNING...AND THIS WILL AGAIN BE THE FOCUS FOR SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS. IN ADDITION AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WAS MOVING INTO WEST
TEXAS THIS MORNING. THE UPPER SYSTEM WILL MOVE EAST OF THE AREA BY
WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD END AT THAT POINT.
HOWEVER...2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN HAS ALREADY FALLEN OVER THE LAST 24
HOURS...WHICH HAS CREATED FLOODING PROBLEMS. ANOTHER 2 TO 4 INCHES
OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE THROUGH WEDNESDAY...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS.
THE THREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING SHOULD END BY WEDNESDAY MORNING...BUT
RIVER FLOODING MAY PERSIST INTO THURSDAY.

PLEASE REFER TO /OKCFLWTUL/ FOR INFORMATION ON RIVER FLOODING.

.SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS
AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS ON THIS HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT.

.DISCUSSION...
THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACROSS TEXAS IS NOT FORECAST TO MOVE MUCH UNTIL
THIS EVENING...AS IT LIFTS NORTH IN RESPONSE TO THE APPROACHING
UPPER SYSTEM. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM
ALONG AND NORTH OF THE BOUNDARY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE HEAVIEST
RAINFALL WILL MAINLY FALL SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40. HEAVY RAINS FELL
YESTERDAY ACROSS THE AREA...AND SO ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL
PRODUCE FLOODING PROBLEMS TODAY AND TONIGHT.

.OTHER HAZARDS...
IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAIN...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO
EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY. LIMITED INSTABILITY
SHOULD KEEP THUNDERSTORMS BELOW SEVERE LIMITS...BUT A FEW STORMS MAY
BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL. THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR HAIL
WILL BE IN SOUTHERN AREAS NEAR THE RED RIVER.

RELATED GRAPHICAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT...
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA

ARKANSAS BASIN RIVER FORECAST CENTER - SIGNIFICANT RIVER FLOOD
OUTLOOK CAN BE FOUND AT...
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/ABRFC/FOP/ABRFCFOP.HTML

SJT

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:48 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Latimer

When: March 19, 9:50 AM CST to March 20, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Latimer County, Countywide
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 34.876, -95.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain fell on and off from the evening of the 18th to the early morning hours on the 20th. During this time frame Wilburton reported 6.05 inches of rain. The excessive rain resulted in flash flooding and flooding across the county. The first report of flooding came at 950 am cst when water was reported to be flowing over Highway 2 one mile north of Wilburton. Shortly thereafter flooding was reported on numerous county roads across the county. By 1105 pm on the 19th water was reported to be flowing over Highway 82 between Red Oak and Talihina and also on Highway 82 between Red Oak and Lequire. The rain subsided during the early morning hours of the 20th and the flooding abated.

Flash Flood, Pittsburg

When: March 19, 9:55 AM CST to March 20, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Pittsburg County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.924, -95.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain fell on and off from the early morning hours of the 19th to the early morning hours of the 20th. During this time frame McAlester recorded 4.61 inches of rain. This excessive rain resulted in flash flooding and longer term flooding. The first report of flooding was water flowing over Highway 63 four miles west of Haileyville at 955 am. This road and and Highway 31 three miles west of McAlester were closed due to flooding shortly thereafter. As the day progressed water was reported over several county roads. The flooding continued into the early morning hours of the 20th.

Flash Flood, Choctaw

When: March 19, 10:05 AM CST to March 20, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Choctaw County, Countywide
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 34.027, -95.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain fell on and off across Choctaw county from the late evening hours on the 18th to the evening hours of the 19th. 4.90 inches of rain was reported near Hugo during this time frame. The heavy rainfall resulted in considerable flash flooding and flooding across the county. The first reports of flooding came around 1005 am. Highway 70 eight miles west of Hugo was reported to be covered by water and several county roads were reported to be barricaded due to high water. Later that afternoon Highway 70 was also under water west of Soper and near Boswell. Highway 109 was also under water at several locations between Ord and Froggville. The flooding was so severe that many county roads were washed out and a few bridges were damaged.

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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, March 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: 5286672, 5286673, 5286773.