Flood — Tulsa, Oklahoma

2015-12-27 · near Atlantic, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Event narrative

Several roads were closed due to flooding. A woman drove into flood waters on Mingo Road between 191st Street South and 201st Street South and was drowned.

Wider weather episode

A strong upper level low pressure system moved from the desert southwest into the Southern Plains in late December. Unseasonably moist air was in place across the region ahead of this approaching system as Pacific moisture in the mid and upper levels combined with very moist air in the low levels from the Gulf of Mexico. Strong atmospheric lift from the approaching upper level low and a warm front moving across the area, combined with this moisture, resulted in widespread locally heavy rainfall and isolated severe weather.

Widespread eight to ten inches of rain fell across much of eastern Oklahoma with locally up to a foot of rain recorded. Widespread and significant flooding occurred across the area as a result. Daily rainfall records were broken during this event at Tulsa, Muskogee, and McAlester. This heavy rain event to end the month of December also resulted in it being the wettest December on record at Muskogee with 13.40 inches observed during the month, and at McAlester where 10.50 inches fell. The Tulsa area received its second wettest December on record with 8.60 inches of rain.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.8869, -95.8691)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 611285. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.