Flooding Sets In Across Eastern Oklahoma; Tornado Warnings Expire

Bands of heavy rain with some severe thunderstorms moved across eastern Oklahoma and areas south and east of Tulsa are expected to be water-logged on Sunday.

The News On 6 WARN team also says a flash flood watch along with flash flood warnings have been issued the eastern half of the state through at least Sunday night.

Standing water on the roadways will continue to be a big concern for holiday traffic. Several highways and interstates have pockets of deep water, and traffic is moving a lot slower than usual.

To find out about road conditions across the state, check ODOT's real-time interactive map by clicking here.

On Saturday, radar-indicated rotation that was rain-wrapped caused the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning for portions of Cherokee, Wagoner, Muskogee Counties in the early evening. Those warnings expired at 5:45 p.m., but our storm trackers were out south and east of Tulsa watching for lowerings as the frequent lightning illuminated the dark sky.

A severe thunderstorm warning expired at 6:30 p.m. for Adair, Cherokee, Delaware in Oklahoma and Benton County in Arkansas. From Tahlequah to Little Kansas was the main area of concern, Chief Meteorologist Travis Meyer said.

NWS allowed a tornado watch to expire at 8 p.m. for several counties south and east of Tulsa.

WARN Interactive Radar

Rain fall rates of up to a half an inch an hour fell and are expected to cause historic December flooding.

Of major concern is the Illinois River basin around the Tahlequah area. Five to 10 inches of rain is expected leading to dangerous flooding through Sunday and into Monday.  

12/26/2015 Related Story: Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission Warns Of Historic Flooding On Illinois River

Come Monday, the rain combined with colder temperatures could turn to snow accumulating on elevated surfaces with the possibility of thundersnow. 

The NWS has issued a blizzard watch Friday for Cimarron County in the Oklahoma Panhandle, extending from Saturday evening through Sunday morning.  Forecasters say snow accumulations of up to 6 inches with locally higher amounts are possible in the area. 

Meanwhile, a winter storm watch remains in effect in western and central Oklahoma from Saturday evening through Monday. 

Weather Alerts