There seems to be, even today, a great interest in the "great" flood of Enid, Oklahoma. We will try to gather as much information about the flood as we can and post it here. If you have any stories or photos from the flood please send them to us. Below is the information we have gathered at this time.

The huge amount of rainfall that fell in Enid is known as the "Enid Flood". The flood took place October 10 and 11 of 1973. The storm was caused by a locally intense thunderstorm that was centered over Enid. This storm produced the greatest urban rainfall on record in Oklahoma. Rainfall accumulations were 15 to 20 inches within a 100 square mile area. A recorded 2 inches fell in 3 hours.

The cause of the storm was a low pressure center that moved northeastward along a slowly moving cold front. These two systems stalled over north-central Oklahoma, depositing record-breaking rainfall. The 24-hour rainfall total at Enid of 15.68 inches exceeded the previous record which occurred September 3-4, 1940 (at Sapulpa).

The rain in Enid actually fell in about 12 hours, with 75 percent of it falling in 4 hours. The severe flash flooding that resulted from the rainfall in Enid destroyed or severely damaged 300 homes and 40 businesses. The rainfall also contributed to nine deaths. In Garfield County alone, property damages were estimated at 8 million dollars, with damages to crops and land that climbed to some 13 million.

Accounts of the flood:

I was ten years old, living in Enid during the flood. My sister and I were staying alone at our house on South Johnson, while our mom was bowling. My great-grandmother lived directly across the street and kept an eye on us from her front window. I remember there being a very heavy rain that lasted for hours.

The flooding was so bad and so quick that our mom couldn't get home. My great-grandmother must have called us to come to her house because I remember crossing the street to her house and becoming completely drenched as soon as I made it to the front yard. I remember the water completely filling the street and my shoes becoming soaked in an instant.

My grandmother asked me to go to her basement and see if there was any water coming in. I do remember that there were several areas where water was just running into her basement. We used buckets to move the water out of the basement. I'm not exactly sure where we put the water but I think we just threw it out the back door to watch it run back in again.

That's about all I remember about the great Enid flood. We would love to hear your accounts and see any photos that you might have. Please send them to us.

Curtis D. Tucker

I was at the bowling alley during the heavy rainfall.  When we finished bowling (up the hill from the corner of W Owen K Garriott and S. Van Buren at the Trail Bowling Alley) that night I went out to the car. I looked and the water was up to the middle of the hub caps on my 67 Thunderbird.  I went back inside to think about what to do.  A man came in and said his car had just floated away at the corner and he had jumped out of the window. That spot was right at the corner where Walgreens stands now.  The small house that is a information center was the highway patrol building and it was totally under water.  

The man  (a Munsingwear Underwear salesman) asked if anyone could take him to the Ramada Inn.  I said I would try so we got in and went West on Rupe and turned at each street to try to get on Owen K Garriott.  The man would get out and wade up the street to test the height of the water but at every crossing the water was too high.  He told me his wife would never believe this story when he got home to Tulsa.  On our final try on  South Garland my car finally stalled from so much water.  A man in a pickup stopped, picked us up and took us back to South Johnson where a friend lived.

We had found a safe haven from the flood until the water went down.  My friend and his wife weren't quite clear on where or how I had come up with a traveling salesman whose car had floated away.  We were finally able to go home by dawn and my friend took the man to the Inn.  I got my car towed and went home to tell the tale to the kids.

Ann Tucker

Your story rings very familiar. I was also 10 years old in ’73, and like Ann, we were also at the bowling alley that night. My dad bowled on a league for years. I don’t remember much about getting home, just that it was really late. Our house sat on something of a hill, so we didn’t have any damage. However, a friend had to climb out of her car near Johnson Street ( I think) and found it the next day on the banks of Meadowlake Park.
 
I hadn’t thought about the flood in years. Thanks for memories (I think).
 
Jodi Shumway

--------If you have a flood picture let us know and we will place it here-------