Hail in Le Flore County, Oklahoma

Golfball-sized hail caused major damage in Poteau. Many cars had their windshields broken out, their mirrors and antennae knocked off, and some cars were dented so badly that it knocked off paint. The entire police fleet suffered dents. Roof damage on many buildings was considerable. State Farm Insurance alone had 800 building damage claims and 350 auto claims stemming from the storm. The awning on the Black Angus restaurant on Broadway was shredded by the force of the hail. State Farm reported $1.6 million in claims, and the Reed-Williams Insurance Company reported $1 million in claims two weeks after the storm, and more claims were still coming in. All in all, this was a historic hailstorm for Poteau.

Summary of events for January 21 1999:Several rounds of severe thunderstorms affected southeast Oklahoma on the evening of January 21. The first batch of storms was the worst as it developed in northern Pushmataha County and pushed northeast across extreme southeast Latimer County and on into Le Flore County to the state line near Rock Island. While this was a small storm, it packed quite a punch with hail as large as golfballs at Wister and Poteau. Other storms that evening produced hail to the size of dimes and nickels.These thunderstorms developed in very unstable air in advance of a dryline as a powerful upper level jet approached the area.