41
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$4.3M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Craig County, Oklahoma: 41 recorded events between 1998 and 2023. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #797 nationally and #29 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Craig County, Oklahoma: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Craig County is the 2010s, when 18 of the county's 41 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Craig County archive, flash flood makes up 7.4% of all recorded severe weather across 5 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #797 for this hazard and #29 within Oklahoma, putting it in the 73.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for flash flood in Craig County with 17 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2011 | WHITE OAK | 0 | 0 | 10 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2023 | VINITA | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 14, 2023 | VINITA ARPT | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 24, 2019 | WHITE OAK | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2019 | TODD | 0 | $0 |
| May 21, 2019 | VINITA | 0 | $0 |
| May 21, 2019 | VINITA | 0 | $0 |
| May 21, 2019 | WHITE OAK | 0 | $50K |
| May 1, 2019 | VINITA | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 17, 2018 | WELCH | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2016 | BLUEJACKET | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Craig County
- Thunderstorm Wind 239
- Hail 222
- Tornado 50
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An estimated 5 to 8 inches of rain in a short time caused Big Cabin Creek on the west side of Vinita and Bull Creek on the east side of Vinita to overflow their banks and enter 54 homes. Water was five feet deep in some homes. 30 homes were evacuated. The hardest-hit areas were located along North Second to North Fourth Streets, near Sequoyah and Tahlequah. According to the police chief, all of the homes around North Second Street were devastated. Later in the evening, water from Bull Creek drained into Big Cabin Creek, flooding out several homes in the Westwood area. Long-time residents say that the last time Bull Creek flooded any homes was in 1961, though they said the flooding this time was much more serious. Property damage was estimated at $4 million. Swift-moving floodwater from Bull Creek swept a pickup truck off of Eastern State Road.All four lanes of US Hwy 60 were closed by high water 1/2 mile west of Vinita. There were also reports of flooding around Welch.
Numerous roads were flooded and closed north of Vinita. At least ten motorists were rescued by emergency personnel in the flood waters and at least 20 homes were evacuated due to rising flood water. The Oklahoma Mesonet station near Vinita measured 7.48 inches of rain in five hours during this event.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Craig County, Oklahoma?
41 flash flood events are recorded in Craig County between 1998 and 2023, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Craig County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Craig County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Craig County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Craig County, Oklahoma.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oklahoma/craig-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.