Heavy Rains Cause Minor Flooding In Southwest Oklahoma

Staff and Wire Reports

HOBART, Oklahoma -- Heavy rain fell in parts of southwestern Oklahoma early Monday, causing minor flooding in some areas. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

According to the Oklahoma Mesonet, about 6.4 inches of rain fell in Hobart in Kiowa County between midnight and 8 a.m. Monday, raising the town's three-day rainfall total to nearly 8.7 inches.

"It has been an unusually wet airmass over the region," said Chris Sohl, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Norman. "It hasn't taken much to generate thunderstorm activity."

In Hobart, authorities closed State Highway 9 for about four hours because of high water in the road. The Highway 9 business route into the town of about 4,000 people also was closed and television video showed numerous roads in the area covered with water.

Hobart Mayor Tom Talley said authorities had to perform five high-water rescues to evacuate special-needs residents in one area.

Emergency management officials from Hobart and Kiowa County didn't immediately return messages left Monday.

The weather service also received reports that some roads around Carnegie in Caddo County were closed because of high water and an American Indian powwow going on in the area had to move to higher ground, Sohl said. In nearby Fort Cobb, about 3.8 inches of rain fell Monday morning.

The weather service issued a flood warning for the North Fork of the Red River near Headrick in Jackson County through late Tuesday. At 9 a.m. Monday, the river was at 10.2 feet, and it was expected to rise above its flood stage of 14 feet on Tuesday morning.

Forecasters expected the river to crest at about 15.8 feet before falling back below flood stage Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier flood warnings for the Cimarron River near Waynoka in northwestern Oklahoma and the Little River near Tecumseh in central Oklahoma were allowed to expire, with only minor flooding occurring.