TULSA, Okla. — For most people in Green Country it's hard to believe it's been five years since historic flooding impacted our area, damaging homes, land and changing our community.
It became the summer Oklahomans never forget... but it started in Winter 2018.
An historic amount of snow fell on the Colorado Rockies, wreaking havoc in those areas, and then as the snow melted flowing into rivers and raising the water levels. The water moved downstream impacting the rivers in the northeast Oklahoma.
Then it started raining here.
By mid-May the Arkansas River level hit 15 feet. For comparison on May 21, 2024 the river level is 4.4 feet.
Oklahoma saw a record amount of rain through the month.
May 2019 is the third wettest May in the state, dating back to 1894.
On May 21, 2019 the National Weather Service issued a Flood Warning for the Arkansas River.
People in the southern Tulsa County prepared to evacuate as a precaution. Officials started letting water out of Keystone Dam to prevent damaging flooding.
Heavy rainfall led to the Arkansas River cresting at 23.51 feet on May 29, 2019. This is the 2nd highest level the river's reached since 1894.
Water rose in the Verdigris River.
And the flooding started.
Overflow from the river led to flooding in area lakes and neighborhoods. Flooding impacted areas across northeast Oklahoma into Arkansas.
Sand bag stations started, the city blared flood sirens and city and county officials urged people to leave the area for safety.
The water kept rising. Schools closed, streets near the river became impassable.
Governor Stitt declared a disaster for the entire state.
The increased water tested the levees. Some water came through.
In some towns, like Webbers Falls, no one could get into the town except by boat because of the rising water.
Then a couple of loose barges traveled through the full river and crashed into the barge, people waited anxiously— worried about damage leading to more water in their homes and city.
Luckily, damage to the barge was minimal.
Finally, the last round of heavy rain fell in the area on June 6.
Floods killed five people.
Then the clean up began. Water receded and people tried to salvage their lives, got first looks at damage caused by the water.
2 News looked back one year later to see how people recovered, how officials repaired and planned for future weather events.We learned how they saved the levees then and how they made them stronger.
Now, five years later we learned more about precautions officials are making and how flood victims remember that long, rainy few weeks.
Beyond the flooding impact May 2019 also saw a record number of tornado warnings and tornadoes across the state.
Between May 16 and May 24 the National Weather Service issued 122 tornado warnings across the state, most centered on NE Oklahoma and the Tulsa metro area.
U.S. President Donald Trump approved a Major Disaster Declaration for Oklahoma on June 1 with an incident period from May 7–June 9.
According to the National Centers for Environmental Information the storm caused $3 billion in damage in the Arkansas River basin.
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