Thunderstorm Wind — Ottawa, Oklahoma

2024-08-16 · near Quapaw, Ottawa, Oklahoma

Event narrative

Strong thunderstorm wind damaged the roof of the elementary school, blew HVAC units from the roof of the high school, damaged windows and buses, and blew down trees and power poles. The damage delayed the start of the school year for the district.

Wider weather episode

Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed into northeastern Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 16th, and became more widespread across the area during the evening and overnight hours. The atmosphere became very unstable during the late afternoon over eastern Oklahoma, and deep layer wind shear increased over the region during the evening with the approach of an upper level disturbance. This environment supported severe thunderstorms, including some supercells, that produced large hail up to hen egg size and damaging wind gusts.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.9550, -94.7893)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1208664. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.