Winter Weather, Creek
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Creek forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.903, -96.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather in Oklahoma, February 26, 2003
Patchy freezing drizzle began falling across eastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours and continued until about mid morning. Although the impact was spotty, the impact was serious in a few places.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 16 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 18
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.
Patchy freezing drizzle began falling across eastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours and continued until about mid morning. Although the impact was spotty, the impact was serious in a few places. Numerous schools were closed due to icy roads. Numerous accidents occurred. Two particularly hard hit counties were Okfuskee and Okmulgee where Interstate 40 and Highway 75 were impacted. Nearly 20 accidents were reported on Interstate 40 between mile marker 218 and 230 in Okfuskee county. Just a little further to the east near Henryetta in southern Okmulgee county a few tractor trailer rigs jacknifed climbing a hill on Interstate 40. This caused the highway to be closed for a few hours until the accidents could be cleaned up and travel was once again possible.
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 26, 1:00 AM CST, 1 hour earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 26, 1:00 AM CST, 1 hour before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA 100 AM CST WED FEB 26 2003 ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT AND INTO THE MORNING HOURS FOR SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN ARKANSAS. AREAS OF FREEZING RAIN/SLEET WERE INCREASING IN COVERAGE AND ROADS LIKELY TO ICE UP IN THOSE AREAS. ALSO WATCHING AREA OF EXPANDING PRECIPITATION ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. IF CURRENT TRENDS CONTINUE...THEN ADDITIONAL ADVISORIES MAY BE NEEDED TODAY. UPDATED ZONES AND THE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE HAVE ALREADY BEEN SENT. FORECAST ID= 9 .TSA... AR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL NOON FOR ZONES ARZ001>002... ARZ010>011...ARZ019>020...ARZ029. OK...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL NOON FOR ZONES OKZ049...OKZ053... OKZ072>076.
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 25, 6:00 AM CST, 20 hours before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-261200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 600 AM CST TUE FEB 25 2003 THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT DISCUSSION... WE WILL HAVE A BRIEF RESPITE FROM INCLEMENT WINTER WEATHER ACROSS OKLAHOMA AND ARKANSAS TODAY. HOWEVER...ANOTHER IN A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES MOVING EAST FROM THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES WILL INCREASE CHANCES FOR SCATTERED AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW BEGINNING OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A VERY ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE COMING WEEKEND...AS A FRIGID ARCTIC AIRMASS REMAINS IN PLACE. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF MEASURABLE SNOW ON WEDNESDAY AND AGAIN ON FRIDAY AS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES MOVE ACROSS OKLAHOMA AND ARKANSAS. THE ARCTIC AIR WILL BEGIN TO MODIFY SOMEWHAT OVER THE WEEKEND...PRODUCING WARMER TEMPERATURES. YET ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANGE OF RAINFALL TO THE REGION ON SUNDAY. .SPOTTER / EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. 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.
Event by event
18 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Weather, Cherokee
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Cherokee forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.907, -95.000 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Choctaw
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Choctaw forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 34.027, -95.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Delaware
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Delaware forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.408, -94.803 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Haskell
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Haskell forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.225, -95.117 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Latimer
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Latimer forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 34.876, -95.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Le Flore
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Le Flore forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
Winter Weather, Mayes
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Mayes forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.302, -95.231 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, McIntosh
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- McIntosh forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.374, -95.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Muskogee
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Muskogee forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.616, -95.379 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Okfuskee
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Okfuskee forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.466, -96.323 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Okmulgee
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Okmulgee forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.647, -95.964 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Pittsburg
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Pittsburg forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 34.924, -95.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Pushmataha
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Pushmataha forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 34.416, -95.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Rogers
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Rogers forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.372, -95.604 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Sequoyah
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Sequoyah forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
Winter Weather, Tulsa
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Tulsa forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.121, -95.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Wagoner
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Wagoner forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.961, -95.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Winter Weather
- Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Ice Storm in Arkansas, February 26, 2003
- Winter Weather in Virginia, February 26 to 28, 2003
- Winter Storm in Virginia, February 26 to 28, 2003
- Winter Storm in Virginia, February 26 to 27, 2003
- Winter Weather in Kentucky, February 26, 2003
- Winter Weather in Maryland, February 26 to 28, 2003
- Ice Storm in Mississippi, February 26, 2003
- Winter Weather in West Virginia, February 26 to 28, 2003
- Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 26 to 27, 2003
- Winter Weather in Arkansas, February 26, 2003
- Winter Storm in Maryland, February 26 to 28, 2003
- Winter Storm in North Carolina, February 26 to 27, 2003
More
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5343601, 5343602, 5343603, 5343604, 5343605, 5343606, 5343607, 5343608, 5343609, 5343610, 5343611, 5343612, 5343613, 5343614, 5343615, 5343616, 5343617, 5343618.