Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, February 23, 2003

Name: Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, February 23, 2003
Start: 2003-02-23T07:30
End: 2003-02-23T16:00
Location: Oklahoma

February 23, 2003 · NWS TSA · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

A powerful upper level system dove southeast out of the central rockies and into Oklahoma on February 23rd. This upper level system produced heavy snow across much of Northeast Oklahoma.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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.

A powerful upper level system dove southeast out of the central rockies and into Oklahoma on February 23rd. This upper level system produced heavy snow across much of Northeast Oklahoma. The heaviest snow occurred near the Kansas border where near blizzard conditions occurred as north winds averaged 20 to 30 miles an hour. Due to the restricted visibility a major automobile accident occurred on Interstate 44 near Miami. A three car accident turned into a 30 car pile up. This accident closed west bound lanes for several hours. East bound lanes were also closed for a time as a semi jackknifed while trying to avoid the pile up and crossed onto the other side of the highway. Despite the magnitude of the event, no serious injuries were reported. Other area roads were also impassable and some schools in the area were closed the next two days. Some snowfall totals included 16 inches at Pawhuska, 15 inches at Hominy, 15 inches at South Coffeyville, 13 inches at Lenapah, 12 inches at Bartlesville, 12 inches at Pawnee, 12 inches at Miami, 11 inches at Nowata, 10 inches at Vinita, 10 inches at Catoosa, 8 inches at Pryor, 8 inches at downtown Tulsa, 8 inches at Claremore and 6 inches at Jay.

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 Feb 23, 3:45 AM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 23, 3:45 AM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
345 AM CST SUN FEB 23 2003

A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM IS BEARING DOWN UPON EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. THE GFS AND ETA MODELS GENERALLY AGREE WITH THE MAIN
FEATURES OF THIS SYSTEM. BOTH MODELS GENERATE IMPRESSIVE LIFT. CWA
IS LOCATED UNDER AREA OF UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE AND WILL BE
POSITIONED WITHIN FAVORABLE LF QUADRANT OF 80KT 5H JET MAX AND AT
THE NOSE OF 40-50KT 85H JET MAX THIS MORNING. INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE
AND MID LEVEL COOLING AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM WILL INCREASE INSTABILITY
ALOFT...THUS THE POSSIBILITY FOR CONVECTIVE PRECIPITATION WILL
EXIST.

MODELS HAVE COME INTO AGREEMENT WITH PLACING THE TRACK OF THE
ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW GENERALLY ALONG THE RED RIVER AND THEN
SWINGING IT THROUGH CENTRAL ARKANSAS. GFS AND ETA ARE ALSO IN
AGREEMENT WITH PRECIPITATION BEGINNING SOMETIME BETWEEN 11Z AND
12Z...POSSIBLY INITIALLY AS RAIN BUT QUICKLY CHANGING OVER TO ALL
SNOW. MODELS ALSO AGREE ON LOCATING MAXIMUM SNOWFALL BAND WEST-EAST
GENERALLY BETWEEN TULSA AND THE KANSAS BORDER. BOTH OZ MODEL RUNS
PROGGED AROUND 6 INCHES FOR TULSA HOWEVER THE 6Z MESO ETA RUN HAS
UPPED ITS SNOWFALL AMOUNT TO AS MUCH AS 8 INCHES FOR THE SWATH
THROUGH THE TULSA AREA. THE GRADIENT BETWEEN MAXIMUM SNOWFALL AND A
DUSTING SHOULD BE FAIRLY TIGHT. HOWEVER...SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL
LARGELY DEPEND UPON THE TRACK OF ANY CONVECTIVE BANDS THAT DEVELOP.

AFTER ANALYSIS OF LATEST DATA...WILL EXPAND WINTER STORM WARNING A
COUPLE OF COUNTIES FURTHER SOUTH AND THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
ABOUT ONE MORE TIER OF COUNTIES SOUTHWARD.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THIS SYSTEM...WHILE INTENSE...IS A FAST MOVER
AND WILL BE OUT OF THE CWA BY THE END OF THE DAY. PRECIP SHOULD END
IN OKLAHOMA BY AROUND 0Z...AND IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BY AROUND
24/03Z.

BEHIND THIS SYSTEM...A BRUTAL ARCTIC AIRMASS WILL SURGE SOUTHWARD
INTO THE REGION...DRAMATICALLY LOWERING TEMPS MONDAY AND TUESDAY.
ANOTHER PRECIPITATION EVENT WILL OCCUR MIDWEEK...AND WITH COLD AIR
REMAINING AT THE SURFACE COULD PRODUCE A ROUND OF FREEZING RAIN OR
OTHER WINTERY PRECIP.

CONCENTRATED MAINLY ON IMPENDING STORM FOR THIS FORECAST SO MADE
ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO EXTENDED FORECAST.

TUL   31   15   24   16  / 90   20   10   10
FSM   44   23   35   20  / 80   20   10   10
MLC   45   20   33   21  / 60   10   10   10
BVO   30   11   22   14  / 90   20   10   10
FYV   34   17   26   14  / 90   40   10   10
BYV   31   14   23   13  /100   50   10   10
MIO   30   10   23   13  /100   30   10   10
F10   40   17   28   20  / 70   10   10   10
HHW   49   27   38   22  / 20   10   10   10

FORECAST ID= 06

.TSA...
AR...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY FOR ZONES ARZ001>002...
ARZ010>011.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR ZONES ARZ019>020...ARZ029.

OK...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY FOR ZONES OKZ054>064...
OKZ066>070.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR ZONES OKZ065...OKZ071>076.

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 23, 6:00 AM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-241200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
600 AM CST SUN FEB 23 2003

THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS
MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

DISCUSSION...
A WINTER STORM WILL BRING HEAVY SNOW TO PARTS OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
AND NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA TODAY.

A FAST MOVING AND STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS
OKLAHOMA TODAY. AN AREA OF LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN AND SNOW WAS
SPREADING INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA THIS MORNING...AND THE PRECIPITATION
IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY BY MID MORNING.
SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...IS EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF NORTHEAST
OKLAHOMA AND THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF ARKANSAS THIS MORNING. THE SNOW
WILL CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE ENDING THIS EVENING.

SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN AREAS
ALONG AND NORTH OF A TULSA TO FAYETTEVILLE LINE BY LATE THIS
AFTERNOON. A WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE NORTHWEST
CORNER OF ARKANSAS AS WELL AS MUCH OF NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA. OVER WEST
CENTRAL ARKANSAS AND PARTS OF SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOWFALL. THE WINTER
WEATHER STATEMENT /OKCWSWTUL/ GIVES DETAILS ON THE WINTER STORM
WARNING AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
ARCTIC AIR WILL OVERSPREAD ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN
ARKANSAS MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF RAIN OR
FREEZING RAIN TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT AS A SLOW MOVING STORM
SYSTEM DEVELOPS OVER THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES.

.SPOTTER / EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES
MAY WANT TO MONITOR THE LATEST CONDITIONS.

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

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Osage

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Osage forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Heavy Snow, Craig

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Craig forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.762, -95.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.408, -94.803 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Mayes

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Mayes forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.302, -95.231 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Nowata

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Nowata forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.799, -95.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ottawa

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Ottawa forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.836, -94.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pawnee

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Pawnee forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.317, -96.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Rogers

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Rogers forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.372, -95.604 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tulsa

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Tulsa forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.121, -95.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wagoner

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Wagoner forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.961, -95.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Washington

When: February 23, 7:30 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.715, -95.904 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, February 2003

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: 5343008, 5343009, 5343477, 5343478, 5343479, 5343480, 5343481, 5343482, 5343483, 5343484, 5343485.