Which Areas Of Norman, Okla., Flood The Most? (The Day In Weather)

One year ago today, I was awakened at 5 a.m. more than 100 miles away from home with a message on my pager saying that a hurricane was moving through Oklahoma City.

Actually, don't laugh. It was a tropical storm, and seven people died when Erin rolled through central Oklahoma on Aug. 19-20, 2007. For those of you not familiar with the weather dynamic of the Sooner State, I'll keep it simple.

We get everything.

And, today we got torrential rains and flooding the likes of which hadn't been seen in these parts since, well, this week last August. Norman was particularly hard hit by flash flooding, and while most of these roads are again open as of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, this list compiled by the Norman Transcript offers an insight into what floods where.

1. McGee Drive north of Lindsey Street


2. Midway Dr. /Independence Drive and Pinafore Drive


3. 24th Avenue NW /Hwy 77 (Flood Avenue) and Franklin Road


4. Franklin Rd. /24th Avenue N.W. and 12th Avenue N.W.


5. Intersection of 24th Avenue N.W. and Indian Hills Road


6. Franklin Rd. /Porter Ave. and 36th Ave. NE


7. Porter Ave. /Franklin Rd. and Tecumseh Rd.


8. 12th Ave. N.E. at Franklin Rd.


9. 24th Ave. N.E. at Franklin Rd.


10. Indian Hills Rd. /12th Ave. N.E. and Porter Ave.


11. 36th Ave. N.W. North of Indian Hills Rd. (NB)


12. 120th Ave. S.E. South of Hwy No. 9


13. Cedar Lane /132nd Ave. S.E. and 144th Ave. S.E.


14. Imhoff Rd. /Hwy No. 9 and 132nd Ave. S.E.


15. 108th Ave. S.E. South of Hwy 9


16. 12th Ave. N.W. /Tecumseh Rd and Franklin Rd (Vo-Tech Rd)


17. Brookford Dr. at 36th Ave. N.W.


18. 36th Ave. S.E. /Hwy No. 9 and Cedar Lane


19. Rock Creek Rd /48th Ave. N.W. and 60th Ave. N.W.


20. Robinson /48th Ave. N.W. and 60th Ave. N.W.


21. Lindsey /60th Ave. S.E. and 72nd Ave.


22. Main /Willoway and Independence


23. 168th Ave. N.E. North of Franklin Road


24. 60th Ave. S.E. south of Hwy No. 9


25. 48th Ave. N.E. /Indian Hills Rd and Franklin Rd.


26. 72nd Ave. S.E. Lindsey to Hwy No. 9


27. 60th Ave. N.E. and Franklin Intersection


28. Tecumseh /60th N.W. and 72nd N.W.


29. Rock Creek Rd. /60th N.W. and 72nd N.W.


30. 48th Ave. S.W. South of Main St.


31. 84th Ave. S.E. º mile North of Post Oak Rd.


32. 36th Ave. N.E. /Franklin and Indian Hills


33. Lindsey at Elm Avenue


34. Lindsey at Homeland

With the full intention of being as thorough and factual as possible on The Norman Files, the above list from the Transcript could be at least partly arbitrary. However, I recognize several of these spots as areas prone to flash flooding. In terms of which residential areas in Norman are most likely to flood, what I know is that new floodplain maps were drawn up this summer.

If you live in Norman, you should have been notified of your existence inside or outside of the floodplains "around Norman’s creeks or the Canadian River bed." I don't recall this notice, but I'm mail lazy. You can contact the city of Norman if you need to know right this very second.

One of the old jokes about Norman is that if you live here, you're in the floodplain.

Anyhoo, back to today's Oklahoma natural disaster du jour:

Several rescues were reported in Norman, and the one that comes to mind is the scene mid-morning at Franklin Road and 12th Street, in which a grandmother told one of my colleagues that she drove into two-feet deep water in the throes of a "blonde moment."

At least she was honest!

I am a big supporter of requiring people who drive into high water where there are barricades to pay not only for the damage to their car but also for the time, expense and even the depreciation of services and equipment used to rescue them. There is no indication one way or the other, for sure, whether there was a barricade here when she got stuck, but I am pretty sure there wasn't.

Norman Assistant Fire Chief Bob Bledsoe talks in this video about closing 12th and Franklin down, which is about the same time the woman and her grandchild was rescued.

Norman High Water rescue
Uploaded by normantranscript

Here's a video report from KOCO.com, and here is some coverage from NewsOK.com.

It could have been much, much worse in Norman. Up to our northwest, in Canadian County, several families were evacuated, and water did get into homes. A YouTube poster called CanadianVandal posted this clip from footage shot by KOCO and aired by CNN this afternoon, shot by uber-talented aerial photojournalist Jay Beauchamp.

Don't think he'll mind the credited shout-out.

Oh, and that hurricane that moved through central Oklahoma last year? You don't believe that it did or that it was tropical in nature? Well, YouTube poster storm45zz adeptly documented the storm on Aug. 19, 2007, right about when I said it came through.

Is it ok if I openly look forward to autumn now?