After a tornado outbreak in Oklahoma overnight, at least four people have died, including an infant. Severe storms are threatening more twisters, heavy rain, and massive hail from Missouri to Texas on Sunday.
The National Weather Service reports that several sizable and extremely deadly tornadoes were simultaneously recorded on the ground throughout the night of Saturday in various sections of Oklahoma.
According to Keli Cain, public communications director for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, there were two deaths in Holdenville and a third in Marietta on I-35.
At a press conference on Sunday, Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma said that a fourth death had occurred in the severely damaged town of Sulphur in Murray County.
In the Norman region, 22 tornadoes were confirmed by the weather service. According to the meteorological service, Sulphur and Marietta were struck by tornadoes with a minimum intensity of EF-3 on Saturday night. Wind speeds of 136 mph or higher are indicated with an EF-3 classification.
In Sulphur, Stitt observed, “it seems like every business downtown has been destroyed now.” “It’s by far the worst damage I’ve seen since becoming governor,”
According to Stitt, perhaps thirty individuals were hurt in Sulphur; it is uncertain what state they are in.
The governor said in a video message that he has declared an emergency disaster and that he will be seeing storm damage in Sulphur and Holdenville.
Several counties reported floods, downed power lines and trees, injuries, and property damage on Saturday night, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. Early on Sunday, it was unclear how much damage had been done.
The meteorological service said that Sulphur, around 80 miles south of Oklahoma City, saw damage and casualties from what looks to have been at least two strong tornadoes overnight, coinciding with the city’s flood warning.
“South of Sulphur, a sizable and incredibly deadly tornado was traveling 35 mph northward. The meteorological service in Norman issued a warning, saying, “First responders need to prepare for additional tornado impacts immediately!”
From east Texas northward into the upper Mississippi River Valley, over 47 million people are at risk of severe weather on Sunday. Communities in Nebraska and Iowa are already assessing the damage that the storms have already caused.
As storms move eastward across the southern Plains, cities including Wichita and Topeka in Kansas, Dallas and Austin in Texas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma, and the Kansas City metropolitan region might see powerful tornadoes.
On Sunday night, there was a tornado watch over more than 4 million people.
As of late Sunday, watches cover northern Louisiana, far western Mississippi, western Arkansas, far eastern Oklahoma, and southern Missouri in addition to portions of eastern Texas. The cities of Shreveport, Louisiana, and Fort Smith and Pine Bluff, Arkansas, are included in the region.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, the storms could cause severe wind gusts of up to 70 mph and hail as big as ping pong balls.
In addition to a sighting near east of Tinker Air Force Base, the weather service reported two tornadoes crossing Oklahoma’s Highway 9 between Goldsby and Blanchard at the same time late Saturday. Additionally, the University of Oklahoma issued a warning to its personnel and students to “Seek shelter NOW inside the building you are in” as a tornado made its way into Norman. Go to the inside room or the lowest floor.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said on Facebook that the state’s emergency operations center was opened on Saturday. He advised the locals to “be weather aware and know where you’ll take shelter if a severe storm threatens your area.”
Storms are bringing significant rains along with tornadoes, which could make the situation even more dangerous.
By Sunday night, as much as 10 inches had fallen in Trinity County, Texas, causing the National Weather Service in Houston to declare a flash flood emergency and send crews scrambling to conduct quick water rescues. It was alerted by the service to an impending “very dangerous and life-threatening situation.”
The threat of a severe storm on Sunday was upgraded by the Storm Prediction Center to a category 3 of 5, affecting areas such as Shreveport, Little Rock, and Springfield in southern Missouri and eastern Texas. A level 2 of 5 severe storm threat is in effect for communities in southern Iowa and southeast Texas.
Through Monday, erratic weather is predicted to persist in the nation’s middle regions.
The National Weather Service stated that “in addition to the severe weather, intense rainfall rates are expected to accompany these thunderstorms at times, leading to a moderate to locally high potential of flash flooding.”
On Friday and Saturday, storms sparked scores of tornado reports in at least six states. Communities in Nebraska and Iowa saw pictures of their homes destroyed and covered in debris.
Tornadoes devastate Iowa and Nebraska
During Friday’s severe weather outbreak, a tornado made landfall in Minden, Iowa, resulting in one fatality, as reported by Pottawattamie County Emergency Management.
According to Pottawattamie County spokesperson Craig Carlsen, of the four storm-related injuries, three were treated and released on Friday, while the fourth, who was first listed in stable condition, eventually passed away from his wounds.
In reaction to the extreme weather on Friday, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declared Pottawattamie County to be in a state of disaster on Saturday.
Omaha resident Jason Sunday and his family had just been in their new Elkhorn home 30 days when a tornado hit like a “freight train,”
“We were in the bathtub downstairs, and it felt exactly like the movie described—like a freight train,” Sunday recalled to KETV. And because there was a tremendous crack and sucking action, you could tell the roof was falling off. It was very terrible.
The family’s new house sustained significant damage from the tornado, and they must now rebuild.
We are appreciative of our life. We’re really appreciative,” Sunday stated.
Similar to Sunday, a large number of people in Omaha and Nebraska are dealing with severe property damage following many tornado reports that occurred on Friday.
Elkhorn, a neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska, is among the most severely affected. It is a wonder there were no fatalities, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen said reporters on Saturday.
The governor wrote on X, “Nebraskans are no strangers to severe weather and, as they have countless times before, Nebraskans will help Nebraskans to rebuild.”
A preliminary EF-3 rating was given to one of the tornadoes that struck Douglas County, with speeds as high as 135 mph, according to Chris Franks of the National Weather Service. He said that the other, which made landfall at Omaha’s airport, seemed to be an EF-2.
A tornado ripped off rooftops and crossed a portion of I-80 on the outskirts of Lincoln, Nebraska. A railway spokesman said that many cars of a train that had been hit by a tornado near Waverly had derailed.
In response to the violent thunderstorms and tornadoes on Friday, Pillen declared an emergency for the counties of Douglas, Lancaster, and Washington on Sunday night. According to the governor, the emergency declaration qualifies the counties in Nebraska for state funding assistance for recovery.
About 120 residences and businesses in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, sustained damage, according to county emergency management officials.
At least five states received over 80 reports of tornadoes on Friday alone; numerous of these reports were verified by the weather service or by watching storm chaser video.
