October 17, 2007 Severe Wind Event

During the Late afternoon and evening hours of October 17, 2007 severe thunderstorms rolled across much of Eastern Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas. While the majority of the damage during the event was the result of strong straight line winds, there were also reports of hail and even a couple of tornadoes.

On October 17th, an energetic upper-level system slowly moved out of the central Rockies into the central Plains as a dry line across Oklahoma. Showers and thunderstorms developed well ahead of the dry line during the late morning and early afternoon, and a second band of strong to severe thunderstorms developed just ahead of the dry line during the late afternoon and evening hours. While the first round of thunderstorms did produce severe weather across portions of the area, the second band of thunderstorms produced more severe weather.

• Straight-line winds caused at least one large tent to collapse at an outdoor festival in Tulsa at approximately 7:23 PM CDT. At least 55 people were injured, with 25 being transported to local hospitals. Of those, six were reported to be in serious condition, and one critical. In addition to the collapsed tent, several other tents at the festival were damaged, along with the contents within those tents.

• 15 to 25 mobile homes were damaged, with two destroyed, in Oologah in Rogers County, OK, at approximately 7:50 PM CDT. Five injuries were reported in the area, but none was life-threatening.