An unseasonably strong upper level storm system moved over the southern half of Oklahoma, beginning on the 18th and continuing through the 19th. Abundant moisture was in place ahead of the storm system and even increased as the storm system began moving east over the Red River.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS OUN wrote it up.
An unseasonably strong upper level storm system moved over the southern half of Oklahoma, beginning on the 18th and continuing through the 19th. Abundant moisture was in place ahead of the storm system and even increased as the storm system began moving east over the Red River. Several waves of heavy showers and thunderstorms overspread areas from Hollis to Oklahoma City, resulting in extremely high precipitation totals and widespread flooding and flash flooding. Many city and county roads were closed due to high water, and several water rescues occurred. Monetary damages were estimated.
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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 18, 3:05 AM CST, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 405 AM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 .DISCUSSION...UPPER LOW OVER SERN COLORADO CONTINUES TO MOVE SLOWLY SEWD THIS MORNING AND IS EXPECTED TO DRIFT INTO THE TX PANHANDLE BY THIS EVENING. FAIRLY WIDESPREAD PRECIP HAS DEVELOPED OVER SOUTHWESTERN PARTS OF THE FA OVERNIGHT AS LIFT HAS INCREASED WITH THE APPROACH OF THE LOW. MOVEMENT OF THE SHOWERS HAS BEEN FAIRLY SLOW. MOST AREAS HAVE SEEN LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN WITH A FEW LOCALLY HEAVY AMOUNTS. FAIRLY DIFFUSE LOW LEVEL BOUNDARY EXPECTED TO REMAIN SOUTH OF THE FA AND WILL NOT GO WITH A FLASH FLOOD WATCH ATTM. HOWEVER...SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH THE DAY IN THE SOUTHWEST. DRIER AIRMASS TO THE NORTHEAST WILL CONTINUE TO LIMIT NEWD SPREAD OF THE PRECIPITATION AND WILL TAPER POPS ACCORDINGLY. UPPER LOW EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY WEAKEN AS IT MOVES SEWD INTO NORTH TEXAS TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. THUS PRECIP THREAT WILL ALSO GRADUALLY SHIFT MORE TOWARD SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE FA. SYSTEM THEN BEGINS TO LIFT NEWD IN ADVANCE OF STRONG S/W TROUGH PUSHING INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES LATER IN THE WEEK WITH PRECIP THREAT MAINLY CONFINED TO THE SE. THE NORTHERN ROCKIES SYSTEM THEN MOVES INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS LATE IN THE PD. WILL CONTINUE WITH LOW POPS FOR THE WEEKEND WITH THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT EDGING INTO THE AREA. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... OKLAHOMA CITY OK 76 63 79 63 / 60 50 40 20 HOBART OK 76 63 79 63 / 80 70 30 20 WICHITA FALLS TX 79 66 80 65 / 90 70 40 30 GAGE OK 74 57 81 59 / 70 50 30 10 PONCA CITY OK 81 62 82 63 / 20 20 30 20 DURANT OK 80 67 80 64 / 70 70 50 30 && .OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OK...NONE. TX...NONE. && 22/02
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
650 AM CDT MON AUG 18 2008
OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-181700-
HARPER-WOODS-ALFALFA-GRANT-KAY-ELLIS-WOODWARD-MAJOR-GARFIELD-NOBLE-
ROGER MILLS-DEWEY-CUSTER-BLAINE-KINGFISHER-LOGAN-PAYNE-BECKHAM-
WASHITA-CADDO-CANADIAN-OKLAHOMA-LINCOLN-GRADY-MCCLAIN-CLEVELAND-
POTTAWATOMIE-SEMINOLE-HUGHES-HARMON-GREER-KIOWA-JACKSON-TILLMAN-
COMANCHE-STEPHENS-GARVIN-MURRAY-PONTOTOC-COAL-COTTON-JEFFERSON-
CARTER-JOHNSTON-ATOKA-LOVE-MARSHALL-BRYAN-HARDEMAN-FOARD-WILBARGER-
WICHITA-KNOX-BAYLOR-ARCHER-CLAY-
650 AM CDT MON AUG 18 2008
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.
.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED...BUT SEVERE WEATHER IS UNLIKELY.
DISCUSSION...
WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE
TODAY...MAINLY ACROSS WESTERN NORTH TEXAS AND THE WESTERN HALF OF
OKLAHOMA AS AN UPPER LEVEL LOW MOVES FROM SOUTHEAST COLORADO INTO
THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. WITH LIMITED INSTABILITY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
ARE UNLIKELY. HOWEVER...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM THE
SLOW MOVING STORMS.
PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CDT TUESDAY AUG 19.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...100 PERCENT.
PROBABILITY OF SEVERE STORMS IF STORMS OCCUR...10 PERCENT.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NONE.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
A LOOSELY ORGANIZED UPPER-LEVEL STORM WILL TRACK VERY SLOWLY ACROSS
THE REGION DURING THE WEEK. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR...
ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. THE GREATEST COVERAGE WILL BE
ACROSS SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS. WEAK INSTABILITY
WILL LIMIT STORM INTENSITY. THE MAIN HAZARDS WILL BE OCCASIONAL
CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS. THE UPPER-LEVEL
STORM IS EXPECTED TO LEAVE THE REGION BY THURSDAY. THUNDERSTORMS
COULD THEN RETURN TO THE FORECAST AS EARLY AS FRIDAY NIGHT...WHEN A
COLD FRONT APPROACHES NORTHERN OKLAHOMA.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NONE.
THE NEXT SCHEDULED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AT NOON
TODAY.
IIThe Altus AFB radar (KFDR), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:02 UTC.
3 flash flood, 2 flood, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Three to six inches of rain in a short amount of time resulted in numerous county roads being closed.
Numerous county roads were washed out and impassable due to very high water.
The Sugden bridge along Highway 81 was under water. Water was reported over numerous county roads and highways, including Highway 70. Several homes reported as much as one foot of water inside the homes. Total rainfall for this area was nine to eleven inches. Monetary damages were estimated.
The measured precipitation total at the Waurika Fire Department was 10.50 inches. The rain fell from 5am on the 18th to 4am on the 19th.
Widespread flooding occurred over eastern Canadian county, with the greatest flooding occurring from NW 23rd Street and Richland Avenue to Highway 66 and Banner Road. Five people were rescued by boat here, with three of those from their home and two from their cars. As much of four feet of water was standing over numerous other city and county roads, making them impassable. Monetary damages were estimated.
Numerous city roads over the western half of Oklahoma City were closed to due to high water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, August 2008
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: 134003, 133999, 134001, 134002, 134004, 134006.