Updated: May 24, 2025, 3 p.m.

Bundle or Bag the Branches
Limbs and branches can be tied into bundles no more than 2-feet across and 4-feet long, weighing less than 40 lbs. and placed at the curb for pick up on your regular trash day. You can also bag them in a transparent bag and place it at the curb. You may place a total of 15 bags and/or bundles of yard waste and/or refuse at the curb per week. Please leave three feet of space between your green waste and other objects. 

Drop-Off at the Mulch Site
Tulsa residents can drop off tree limbs at the City's Mulch site. 

2100 N. 145th E. Ave.

Monday - Tuesday: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday: CLOSED
Thursday - Saturday: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Open to residential customer only. No Commercial customers. Due to the May 24 storm, contractors will be allowed to drop off on Sunday, May 25, 2025.

Preparing for a tornado:

• Know your area’s tornado risk. In the U.S., the Midwest and the Southeast have a greater risk for tornadoes.
• Know the signs of a tornado, including a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud, an approaching cloud of debris, or a loud roar like a freight train.
• Sign up for your community’s warning system. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and NOAA Weather Radio also provide emergency alerts. If your community has sirens, then become familiar with the warning tone.
• Pay attention to weather reports. Meteorologists can predict when conditions might be right for a tornado.
• Identify and practice going to a safe shelter such as a safe room built using FEMA criteria or a storm shelter built to ICC 500 standards. The next best protection is a small, interior, windowless room or basement on the lowest level of a sturdy building.
• Plan for your pet. They are an important member of your family, so they need to be included in your family’s emergency plan.
• Prepare for long-term stay at home or sheltering in place by gathering emergency supplies, cleaning supplies, non-perishable foods, water, medical supplies and medication.

Preparing for a flood:

Watch: Be Prepared! Severe weather is possible in and near the watch area. Stay informed and be ready to act if a warning is issued. The watch area is typically large, covering numerous counties or even states.

Warning: Take Action! Severe weather has been reported by spotters or indicated by radar. Warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. Take shelter in a substantial building. Get out of mobile homes that can blow over in high winds. Warnings typically encompass a much smaller area (around the size of a city or small county) that may be impacted by a large hail or damaging wind identified by an NWS forecaster on radar or by a trained spotter/law enforcement who is watching the storm.

• Pay attention to Tornado Watches and Tornado Warnings.
  • Watch: Atmospheric conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms, capable of producing tornados.
  • Warning: A severe thunderstorm has developed, and has either produced a tornado, or has a radar signature that is conducive for one to develop.
• Watch for tornado warning signs: dark, green-tinted skies; large hail; big, dark, low-lying clouds and load roars sounding like a freight train.
• Immediately go to a safe location that you have identified.
• Pay attention to EAS, NOAA Weather Radio, or local alerting systems for current emergency information and instructions. Listen to media outlets for evacuation and shelter instructions. 
• Gather family members and pets indoors for tornado preparation. Stay away from windows, doors and exterior walls. Preferably, seek shelter in a basement, lower level, interior hallway, bathroom or closet. Protect yourself by covering your head or neck with your arms and putting materials such as furniture and blankets around or on top of you. Grab your tornado preparedness kit and go over your tornado safety plan. 
• If you’re caught outside, lie flat in a ditch or low-lying area, while covering your head with your hands. Never try to outrun a tornado.
• In a car or truck: There is no safe option when caught in a tornado in a car, just slightly less-dangerous ones.
  • If the tornado is visible, far away, and the traffic is light, you may be able to drive out of its path by moving at right angles to the tornado.
  • If you are caught by extreme winds or flying debris, park the car as quickly and safely as possible -- out of the traffic lanes.
  • Stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows; cover your head with your hands and a blanket, coat, or other cushion if possible.
  • If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, leave your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands. 
  • Avoid seeking shelter under bridges, which can create deadly traffic hazards while offering little protection against flying debris.

• Get to higher ground and out of areas prone to flooding
• If you’re driving, Turn Around Don’t Drown when you encounter a flooded road
• Be especially cautious when driving at night when it is harder to recognize flood dangers
• If heavy rain is forecast or occurring and you are out camping, move your camp site and vehicle away from streams and washes

Know the difference between WATCHES and WARNINGS

• A National Weather Service WATCH is a message indicating that conditions favor the occurrence of a certain type of hazardous weather. For example, a severe thunderstorm watch means that a severe thunderstorm is expected in the next six hours or so within an area approximately 120 to 150 miles wide and 300 to 400 miles long (36,000 to 60,000 square miles). The NWS Storm Prediction Center issues such watches. Local NWS forecast offices issue other watches (flash flood, winter weather, etc.) 12 to 36 hours in advance of a possible hazardous-weather or flooding event. Each local forecast office usually covers a state or a portion of a state.

• An NWS WARNING indicates that a hazardous event is occurring or is imminent in about 30 minutes to an hour. Local NWS forecast offices issue warnings on a county-by-county basis.

Many more WATCHES are issued than WARNINGS. A WATCH is the first sign a flood may occur, and when one is issued, you should be aware of potential flood hazards.

Be aware of flood hazards. Floods can roll boulders, tear out trees, destroy buildings and bridges, and scour out new channels. Floodwaters can reach heights of 10 to 20 feet and often carry a deadly cargo of debris. Flood-producing rains can also trigger catastrophic debris slides.

Regardless of how a flood or flash flood occurs, the rule for being safe is simple: head for higher ground and stay away from flood waters. Even a shallow depth of fast-moving flood water produces more force than most people imagine. The most dangerous thing you can do is to try walking, swimming, or driving through floodwaters. Two feet of water will carry away most automobiles. More people die from floods than any other natural disaster and most of these drown while attempting to drive through flood water. Remember the saying “Turn Around Don’t Drown”

Extended periods of cold weather can sometimes cause waterline breaks on City streets and in neighborhoods. You can first check the waterline break board to see if a break has already been reported. If not, you can report it by calling (918) 596-9488.

Weather extremes, including freeze-thaw cycles, take a toll on Tulsa’s streets, causing potholes to form. Tulsans can help identify locations for pothole repairs by reporting them through:

• Online at Tulsa311.com
• Download our Tulsa311 mobile app from the Apple store or Android store
• Call Customer Care Center at 311 or (918) 596-7777.

Tulsa’s Street Maintenance personnel repair potholes as soon as possible, with a goal of within 72 hours after a report is received. Between 200 and 300 potholes are repaired each day. Street Maintenance crews also make permanent repairs to both asphalt and concrete pavement.