OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tornadoes and flooding spawned by severe thunderstorms tore through parts of Oklahoma overnight, leaving at least 11 people injured and shredding homes and other properties.
Residents in Oklahoma and Texas are bracing for more severe weather, including possible tornadoes, flash floods, hail and strong winds. The National Weather Service issued warnings for parts of both states.
The weather service advised residents near Crowell, Texas, to seek shelter as a severe thunderstorm with winds up to 70 mph approached.
Eleven people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after the storms overnight, said Scott Douglas, public information officer with the Oklahoma City Fire Department.
Several structures were damaged in the area, along with power lines, trees, gas lines, traffic signals, and traffic signs, said Valerie Littlejohn, public information officer with the Oklahoma City Police Department.
As of 1:30 p.m. CST Sunday, 39 structures had been destroyed, according to Oklahoma City officials. Additionally, 43 structures sustained major damage, while 54 had minor damage.
More than 30,000 customers in Oklahoma and Texas were without power Sunday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. In Oklahoma City alone there are 5,000 residents without power, according to the city.
Around 1:20 a.m., the weather service warned a severe thunderstorm with a tornado was moving through eastern Oklahoma City toward Midwest City and Tinker Air Force Base. A tornado warning was issued for over 300,000 people in Moore, Midwest City and Del City.
Tornadoes were reported just east of Oklahoma City, and tornado and thunderstorm warnings were in place through early morning in the Oklahoma City area, the weather service said.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of Oklahoma and a few counties in northern Texas. The watch includes Oklahoma City and surrounding cities southeast, affecting more than two million people.
The University of Oklahoma told students and staff on its Norman campus to “Seek shelter NOW inside the building you are in. Move to lowest floor/interior.”
Nighttime tornadoes are more than twice as deadly as daytime ones, research shows. Nocturnal tornadoes are difficult to spot in the darkness and those sleeping may not be aware that danger is near.
There’s heightened concern over the tornado threat this week given how prolific a year it has been for twisters in the US. The number of tornadoes reported so far this year is the second-most on record, trailing only 2011’s 2,156.
Violent thunderstorms are most common in spring and summer, but a second surge of dangerous storms and tornadoes happens during fall and winter as cold air from the north often collides with warmer, moist air streaming out of the Gulf of Mexico. — NNN-AGENCIES
