F1 tornado in Le Flore County, Oklahoma

A tornado touched down about halfway between Pocola and Arkoma, moving to the northeast across the Arkansas state line. This tornado continued through the Fort Smith area, producing F1 damage and a 5-mile path length before finally lifting at the Fort Smith Regional Airport. Only one mile of the tornado's path was in Oklahoma. The tornado was 200 yards wide at its widest point in Arkansas. The tornado caused quite a bit of damage in the Fort Smith area but caused relatively little damage in Oklahoma.For more information on this tornado, see the separate entry for it in the northwest Arkansas Storm Data.

Summary of events for November 9-10 1998:A solid north-south line of severe thunderstorms raced across all of eastern Oklahoma on the evening of November 9. This was in association with the cold front trailing from a powerful "Colorado low" moving across the central plains. This narrow line of storms produced strong to severe wind gusts along its entire length, with gusts estimated as high as 80 mph. There were also reports of hail as large as quarters.Late in the evening, a portion of the line in southeast Oklahoma bowed out once it passed McAlester, producing more severe wind damage and funnel clouds from eastern Pittsburg County to the Arkansas state line. A tornado touched down southwest of Fort Smith between Arkoma and Pocola, travelling northeast for 5 miles across the southern part of Fort Smith.