Arkansas River at Tulsa, OK

River level and flood forecast · Tulsa County

Normal4.0 ftas of Mon 2:30 PM

The river is 14.0 ft below flood stage (18 ft).

The last 7 days and the forecast

0510152025TueWedThuFriSatSunMonAction 15 ftFlood 18 ftModerate 20 ftMajor 22 ftNowObserved (ft)NWS forecast

NWS forecast issued Sun, Dec 31, 6 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.

Flood stages

Major flood stage22 ft
Moderate flood stage20 ft
Flood stage18 ft
Action stage15 ft
Record crest (October 5, 1986)25.21 ft

What floods at each level

From the National Weather Service, highest first.

  • 26 ftdisastrous flooding occurs along the Arkansas River in Tulsa County. Many homes and businesses are flooded. The flooding exceeds the record flood of October 5, 1986 when the river crested at 25.2 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation. Road closures and inundation maps for Tulsa County can be found at www.cityoftulsa.org/.
  • 24 ftvery severe flooding occurs along the Arkansas River in Tulsa County. Some homes and businesses in south Tulsa and Bixby are flooded. Riverside Drive in Tulsa is closed. This exceeds the flooding that occurred in May 2019 when the river crested at 23.5 feet. The record flood was on October 5, 1986 when the stage reached 25.2 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation. Road closures and inundation maps for Tulsa County can be found at www.cityoftulsa.org/.
  • 22 ftsevere flooding occurs along the Arkansas River in Tulsa County. Some homes in parts of south Tulsa and Bixby may be flooded. Riverside Drive in Tulsa becomes impassable. This compares with the flood of October 5, 1959 when the stage reached 22.0 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation. Road closures and inundation maps for Tulsa County can be found at www.cityoftulsa.org/.
  • 21 ftmoderate flooding occurs between Keystone Dam and Bixby. Riverside Drive in Tulsa is impassable at several locations. Homes and businesses in parts of south Tulsa and Bixby may be isolated by high water. The Town and Country neighborhood west of Sand Springs is flooded.
  • 20 ftmoderate flooding occurs downstream towards south Tulsa and Bixby. Large sections of Riverside Park in Tulsa are flooded. Riverside Drive in Tulsa may be impassable at some locations.
  • 19 ftminor flooding occurs between Sand Springs and Bixby. Agricultural lands are flooded and local access roads near the river may be flooded. Stretches of Riverside Park in Tulsa are flooded. The Town and Country neighnorhood west of Sand Springs starts to be impacted.
  • 18 ftminor flooding occurs downstream along the Arkansas River between south Tulsa and Bixby. Agricultural lands are flooded and local roads approaching the river may be impassable. The old Texas and Pacific Railroad between Bixby and Leonard is flooded. Portions of Riverside Park in Tulsa may be flooded.
  • 17 ftminor flooding of agricultural lands and sod farms occurs along the Arkansas River around Bixby. The old Texas and Pacific Railroad between Bixby and Leonard may be flooded.
  • 16 ftminor flooding of agricultural lands and sod farms may occur along the Arkansas River around Bixby.

Highest crests on record

  1. 25.21 ft — October 5, 1986
  2. 23.51 ft — May 29, 2019
  3. 22.8 ft — June 13, 1923
  4. 22 ft — October 5, 1959
  5. 21.8 ft — May 28, 1908

Recent crests: 23.51 ft (May 29, 2019) · 14.49 ft (May 14, 2019) · 15.9 ft (June 13, 1995) · 17.45 ft (May 14, 1993) · 5.45 ft (September 2, 1991)

Up and down the river, and nearby

Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (TLSO2); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.