Severe thunderstorms occurred over eastern Oklahoma during the evening hours of the 15th and early morning hours of the 16th. This activity spread into northwest Arkansas late in the evening and during the early morning hours.
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 TSA wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms occurred over eastern Oklahoma during the evening hours of the 15th and early morning hours of the 16th. This activity spread into northwest Arkansas late in the evening and during the early morning hours.
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 May 15, 8:39 PM CST, 1 hour 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
939 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009
.DISCUSSION...
THE EXPECTED COLD FRONT WAS ENTERING NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AT
THIS TIME WITH A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING ALONG AND
AHEAD OF IT. SPRORADIC SEVERE WIND GUSTS HAVE OCCURRED WITH
THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS AND EXPECT THIS TO CONTINUE AS THE
THUNDERSTORMS MOVE TO THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST. CURRENT POPS
AND WEATHER IN THE GRIDS AND ZONES APPEAR ON TRACK AT THIS
TIME BUT WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE UPDATES.
&&
.TSA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 1 PM SATURDAY FOR OKZ054-OKZ055-OKZ056-
OKZ057-OKZ058-OKZ059-OKZ060-OKZ061-OKZ062-OKZ063-OKZ064-
OKZ065-OKZ066-OKZ067-OKZ068-OKZ069-OKZ070.
AR...NONE.
&&
SHORT TERM...17
LONG TERM....12HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 1114 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009 ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-161000- ADAIR OK-BENTON AR-CARROLL AR-CHEROKEE OK-CHOCTAW OK-CRAIG OK- CRAWFORD AR-CREEK OK-DELAWARE OK-FRANKLIN AR-HASKELL OK-LATIMER OK- LE FLORE OK-MADISON AR-MAYES OK-MCINTOSH OK-MUSKOGEE OK-NOWATA OK- OKFUSKEE OK-OKMULGEE OK-OSAGE OK-OTTAWA OK-PAWNEE OK-PITTSBURG OK- PUSHMATAHA OK-ROGERS OK-SEBASTIAN AR-SEQUOYAH OK-TULSA OK-WAGONER OK- WASHINGTON OK-WASHINGTON AR- 1114 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009 ...SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS A PORTION OF THE REGION OVERNIGHT... THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA. .DAY ONE...OVERNIGHT. TORNADO. RISK...LIMITED. AREA...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN ARKANSAS. ONSET...ONGOING. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. RISK...SIGNIFICANT. AREA...SOUTHEAST OF INTERSTATE 44. ONSET...ONGOING. AREA AT GREATEST RISK...SOUTHEAST OF INTERSTATE 44. FLASH FLOOD. RISK...ELEVATED. AREA...SOUTHEAST OF INTERSTATE 44. ONSET...ONGOING. AREA AT GREATEST RISK...SOUTHEAST OF INTERSTATE 44. HEAVY RAIN. RISK...SIGNIFICANT. AREA...SOUTHEAST OF INTERSTATE 44. ONSET...ONGOING. AREA AT GREATEST RISK...SOUTHEAST OF INTERSTATE 44. DISCUSSION... A LONG SQUALL LINE CONTAINING SEVERE STORMS WITH HIGH WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH SOUTHEAST ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS OVERNIGHT. WIND DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS LINE... AND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE. THE SEVERITY OF THE STORMS IS EXPECTED TO SLOWLY DIMINISH WITH TIME. WIDESPREAD RAIN WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER BEHIND THE MAIN SQUALL LINE INTO SATURDAY MORNING. SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS ONGOING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. SATURDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL. SUNDAY...NO HAZARDS. MONDAY...NO HAZARDS. TUESDAY...NO HAZARDS. WEDNESDAY...NO HAZARDS. THURSDAY...NO HAZARDS. EXTENDED DISCUSSION... THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ONGOING EARLY SATURDAY AS THE STORM COMPLEX CONTINUES TO PUSH THROUGH THE AREA. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL DECREASE BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA BEHIND A COLD FRONT. THIS WILL MARK THE BEGINNING OF A DRY PERIOD WHICH WILL LAST THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA CONTAINS ADDITIONAL TABULAR AND GRAPHICAL INFORMATION.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1012 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1010 PM TSTM WND GST 2 NE VERDIGRIS 36.26N 95.67W
05/15/2009 E65 MPH ROGERS OK AMATEUR RADIO
ROAD SIGN BLOWN DOWN
&&
SFPPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1031 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1015 PM HAIL 4 E CHELSEA 36.54N 95.36W
05/15/2009 E0.75 INCH ROGERS OK PUBLIC
&&
MATPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1038 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1010 PM TSTM WND GST ADAIR 36.44N 95.27W
05/15/2009 M59 MPH MAYES OK EMERGENCY MNGR
HANDHELD ANEMOMETER
&&
SAAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1043 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1012 PM TSTM WND GST CENTRALIA 36.80N 95.35W
05/15/2009 E60 MPH CRAIG OK PUBLIC
&&
SAAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1113 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1110 PM TSTM WND GST 1 NW TAHLEQUAH 35.93N 94.98W
05/15/2009 M70 MPH CHEROKEE OK EMERGENCY MNGR
ESTIMATED OVER 70 MPH. ANEMOMETER ONLY MEASURES TO 70.
&&
SAAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1125 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1100 PM TSTM WND DMG GROVE 36.59N 94.77W
05/15/2009 DELAWARE OK LAW ENFORCEMENT
STREET SIGN BLOWN OVER IN GROVE
&&
MATThe Tulsa radar (KINX), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:36 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down numerous large tree limbs.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down large tree limbs.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down several large tree limbs.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, May 2009
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: 175221, 175223, 175224, 175225.