An area of showers with embedded thunderstorms increased in coverage during the early morning hours of the 4th, developing within a very moist air mass south of a stalled frontal boundary that stretched from southeastern Kansas into northwestern Oklahoma. This activity spread across northeastern Oklahoma during the day.
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.
An area of showers with embedded thunderstorms increased in coverage during the early morning hours of the 4th, developing within a very moist air mass south of a stalled frontal boundary that stretched from southeastern Kansas into northwestern Oklahoma. This activity spread across northeastern Oklahoma during the day. These thunderstorms were very efficient at producing rainfall due to precipitable water values near two inches, which was about 200 percent of normal for that time of year. Some of this thunderstorm activity produced 1.5 to 2 inches of rain per hour. Thunderstorms moving repeatedly over the same areas resulted in rainfall totals in the five to ten inch range across portions of Osage and Pawnee Counties. That heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding, with numerous roads closed.
The widespread heavy rainfall also resulted in main stem river flooding with Black Bear Creek at Pawnee reaching moderate flood stage.
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 4, 8:31 AM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.
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</html>Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Tulsa OK
527 AM CDT Wed Oct 4 2017
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-051030-
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-
527 AM CDT Wed Oct 4 2017
This Outlook is for Northwest and West Central Arkansas as well as
much of Eastern Oklahoma.
.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight.
HEAVY RAIN.
RISK...Elevated.
AREA...Northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas.
ONSET...This morning.
THUNDERSTORMS WITH DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.
RISK...Elevated.
AREA...Eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas.
ONSET...Ongoing.
DISCUSSION...
Showers and scattered thunderstorms will continue over eastern
Oklahoma and western Arkansas today, with activity shifting to
the north tonight. Locally heavy rainfall will be possible across
portions of northeast Oklahoma today, especially across parts of
northeast Oklahoma as this area will be in closer proximity to a
frontal boundary that will remain just to the north of the region
most of today. Overall coverage of showers and thunderstorms will
diminish tonight as the frontal boundary is expected to retreat
to the north. Severe weather is not anticipated through tonight.
SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...
Spotter Activation Not Expected.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday.
THURSDAY through Tuesday...Thunderstorm Potential.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION...
Chances for isolated thunderstorms will be confined to far
northeast Oklahoma and far northwest Arkansas Thursday, with the
rest of the are remaining dry. Settled conditions will continue
through most of Friday, however thunderstorm chances will increase
mainly in the evening as a strong upper wave pushes a cold front
into the area. The front will sweep the area by early Saturday
afternoon which will likely result the rest of the weekend to
remain dry.
A larger upper system and cold front will bring thunderstorm
chances back to the area for early next week. Behind the front,
considerably cooler temperatures will begin to settle over the
region for by the early to middle portion of next week.
weather.gov/tulsa contains additional information.The Tulsa radar (KINX), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:44 UTC.
3 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Portions of Highway 64 were closed between Highway 99 and Highway 18 due to flooding.
A portion of a road was washed out near Terlton.
Numerous streets were severely flooded and closed across town.
Black Bear Creek near Pawnee rose above its flood stage of 17 feet at 4:30 pm CDT on October 4th. The river crested at 21.16 feet at 22:30 pm CDT on the 4th, resulting in moderate flooding. Agricultural lands were flooded and several roads were closed in and around Pawnee. The river fell below flood stage at 3:15 am CDT on the 5th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, October 2017
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: 721205, 721206, 721207, 721181.