Oklahoma, 2008

Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, January 31, 2008

January 31, 2008 · NWS TSA · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

A strong upper level storm system organized over the Southern Rockies and moved across the Southern Plains on the 31st. Precipitation spread into eastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours of the 31st and changed over to snow relatively quickly as cold air was drawn into the storm system from the north.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
9

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 strong upper level storm system organized over the Southern Rockies and moved across the Southern Plains on the 31st. Precipitation spread into eastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours of the 31st and changed over to snow relatively quickly as cold air was drawn into the storm system from the north. Snow fell throughout the day, sometimes falling at rates of one to two inches per hour, resulting in a band of heavy accumulation north of I-40. The heaviest snow occurred in the counties along the Kansas border where about a foot of snow was observed.

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 Jan 30, 3:12 PM CST, 12 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 3:12 PM CST, 12 hours 48 minutes 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

9 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Osage

When
January 31, 4:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Osage forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager

Four to twelve inches of snow fell across Osage County.

Heavy Snow, Washington

When
January 31, 4:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.715, -95.904 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four to twelve inches of snow fell across Washington County.

Heavy Snow, Nowata

When
January 31, 4:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Nowata forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.799, -95.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four to twelve inches of snow fell across Nowata County.

Heavy Snow, Pawnee

When
January 31, 4:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Pawnee forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.317, -96.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four to six inches of snow fell across Pawnee County.

Heavy Snow, Craig

When
January 31, 5:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Craig forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.762, -95.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four to twelve inches of snow fell across the northwestern half of Craig County.

Heavy Snow, Rogers

When
January 31, 5:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Rogers forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.372, -95.604 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four to six inches of snow fell across the northern portion of Rogers County.

Heavy Snow, Ottawa

When
January 31, 6:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Ottawa forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.836, -94.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four inches of snow fell across the northwestern portion of Ottawa County.

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When
January 31, 6:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.408, -94.803 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four inches of snow fell across the northern portion of Delaware County.

Heavy Snow, Tulsa

When
January 31, 7:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Tulsa forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.121, -95.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four to eight inches of snow fell across the northern portion of Tulsa County.

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

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, January 2008

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: 78591, 78592, 78593, 78596, 78594, 78599, 78595, 78597, 78598.