Flood in Oklahoma, October 9 to 10, 2003

Name: Flood in Oklahoma, October 9 to 10, 2003
Start: 2003-10-09T20:00
End: 2003-10-10T05:00
Location: Oklahoma

October 9 to 10, 2003 · NWS TSA · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Polecat Creek near Sapulpa rose above its flood stage of 21 feet during the afternoon of October 9 after heavy rain in excess of 3 inches feel the night before. 4 feet that evening before falling below its flood stage during the pre-dawn hours of the 10th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: 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.

Polecat Creek near Sapulpa rose above its flood stage of 21 feet during the afternoon of October 9 after heavy rain in excess of 3 inches feel the night before. The river crested at 22.4 feet that evening before falling below its flood stage during the pre-dawn hours of the 10th.

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 Oct 9, 1:17 PM CST, 6 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 9, 1:17 PM CST, 6 hours 43 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 9, 12:00 PM CST, 8 hours before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Creek

When: October 9, 8:00 PM CST to October 10, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Creek forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.903, -96.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, October 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5371267.