Flash Flood — Johnston, Oklahoma

2025-05-25 to 2025-05-26 · near Milburn, Johnston, Oklahoma

Event narrative

A relayed image shows a section of roadway washed out, with a vehicle in the washout, near the intersection of Chickasaw Avenue and 9th Street in the community of Milburn. The event time is approximate.

Wider weather episode

This episode once again featured widespread severe convection across the central and southern extents of the WFO Norman Forecast Area from the afternoon of the 25th into early morning of the 26th. The background synoptic regime featured generally weak flow, with evidence of multiple weak embedded upper systems from northern Mexico into portions of the south-central United States. A persistent plume of strong instability, steep mid-level lapse rates, and sufficient deep-layer wind shear supported the development of transiently organized convection, including a few supercells during the early evening hours. However, generally weak steering flow and widespread thunderstorm initiation led to rapid and complex storm-scale interactions, limiting overall storm longevity and intensity. Still, numerous reports of large to very large hail were received, especially across portions of the southern Oklahoma City Metropolitan area. With numerous heavy and slow-moving thunderstorms, flooding reports increased across southern Oklahoma by late evening of the 25th and into early morning of the 26th.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.2376, -96.5546)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1261414. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.