Flash Flood in Le Flore County, Oklahoma

Portions of several county roads were flooded. A motorist drove into flood water on Gilmore Road east of Poteau and was drowned.

Multiple rounds of thunderstorms moved across eastern Oklahoma from the afternoon of June 22nd through the early morning hours of the 24th, as a cold front approached the area from the west. The strongest storms produced damaging wind and large hail up to quarter size. In addition, widespread two to four inches of rain occurred across the area, with some areas receiving between five and seven inches during that period. Flash flooding resulted from this excessive rain. The widespread, heavy rainfall also resulted in moderate flooding of the Neosho River near Commerce, the Spring River near Quapaw, the Illinois River near Watts, Chewey, and Tahlequah, the Arkansas River near Muskogee, and the Poteau River near Poteau and Panama.