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Tornadoes Damage Businesses And Structures Across Central, Southwest Oklahoma

Severe thunderstorms moved across the state Tuesday afternoon and evening, downing electrical lines, damaging some homes and businesses, and dropping large hail. No injuries have been reported.

Updated April 27, 9:07 a.m.:

Authorities are getting a better idea Wednesday morning of how much damage resulted from the severe storms. Several thousand Oklahoma Gas and Electric and Public Service Company of Oklahoma customers were still without power early Wednesday.

Only a handful of small tornadoes affected mostly sparsely populated areas. Oklahoma City Emergency Manager Frank Barnes says the city is conducting preliminary damage assessments totaling about 51 square miles in four areas:

  • Mustang Road to County Line Road between SW 59th and 15th Streets
  • Wilshire Blvd. to NW 122nd Street between Meridian and Council roads
  • Air Depot Blvd. to Westminster Road between Britton Road and NE 150th Street
  • Westminster Road to Indian Meridian roads north of NE 122nd Street

Pontotoc County Emergency Manager Chad Letellier said he received reports a car port was destroyed, along with damage to a mobile home. The First Methodist Church in Davis received significant damage, along with other businesses.

Wind gusts as high as 70-80 miles per hour were recorded at some Mesonet stations in Oklahoma. Chickasha recorded a 74 mile-per-hour wind gust, and an 87 mile-per-hour wind gusts was recorded in Copan, just south of the Kansas border in Washington County.

Credit Oklahoma Mesonet
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Oklahoma Mesonet

Updated 9:10 p.m.:

Tens of thousands of utility customers are without power across central and northwest Oklahoma due to strong winds, hail, rain, and a few brief, isolated tornadoes that moved through the region.

Oklahoma City Emergency Manager Frank Barnes said police reported damage at a Home Depot along the Northwest Expressway between Rockwell Ave. and Council Road. A storage unit nearby also sustained roof damage. Tree damage and vegetative debris has been reported in northeast Oklahoma City.

Norman police say localized flooding has been reported in some parts of the city. Fire officials in Shawnee report downed lines and power outages near downtown.

Updated 8:46 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning for far northeastern Oklahoma County, as well as Logan and Lincoln counties as a storm moves through far eastern Oklahoma City along the Turner Turnpike.

The storm caused power flashes at Britton Road and Air Depot Blvd., and is moving northeast at 50 miles per hour. It's the first Tornado Warning for the Oklahoma City metro with this round of storms. A Tornado Warnig was issued earlier in the day for far southwest Oklahoma near the Texas border.

Updated 8:35 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued an Area Flood Advisory for Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, McClain, and Oklahoma counties until midnight as heavy rain moves through the Oklahoma City metro.

Strong winds are moving through central Oklahoma. A 74 mile-per-hour wind gust was reported in Chickasha, and radar has shown a few brief, weak spinups or possibly a weak tornado causing a handful of power outages.

So far there haven’t been any signs of significant, long-track tornadoes, and the hail size continues to decrease. An inch-and-a-half of a rain was reported at the Oklahoma Mesonet station in Medicine Park, and several hundreths of an inch were reported in the metro.           

Updated 8:19 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Oklahoma, Cleveland, and Grady counties. A tornado is possible with this storm.

Oklahoma City Emergency Manager Frank Barnes says police and fire units responded to power flashes at SW 29th Street and Morgan Road, and SW 44th Street and Sara Road. Power lines are down at SW 59th Street and Sara Road.

Updated 8:06 p.m. 

Storms that moved through North Texas and far southwest Oklahoma have caused minor damage to businesses in counties along the Red River.

Spotters reported 70 mile-per-hour wind gusts near Wichita Falls. A Love's Truck Stop employee confirmed the gas station's sign was destroyed. Meteorologists say the emergency manager of Burkburnett, Texas reported damage to trees and a brick bank sign.

Updated 7:28 p.m.:

A brief thunderstorm just moved through the Norman area, with hail up to an inch in diameter reported on social media.

There’s still a risk of tornadoes, but as of right now it appears the threat of long-track, damaging twisters is diminishing. Straight-line wind damage and brief spin-ups are more likely, according to National Weather Service meteorologist in charge David Andra. Hail sizes will also continue to decrease.

The Tornado Watch issued this afternoon for much of the state has been canceled for Jackson County in far southwest Oklahoma, and several other counties in Texas.

A wall cloud over Meers, Okla. shortly before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Credit Robert MacDonald / Twitter
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Twitter
A wall cloud over Meers, Okla. shortly before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Updated 6:35 p.m.: 

Several severe thunderstorms producing golf ball-sized hail and rotating wall clouds have moved across western Oklahoma Tuesday afternoon and evening. One Tornado Warning was issued at 5 p.m. in far southwest Oklahoma in Tillman County near the town of Tipton, but so far there have been no reports of any injuries or damage. A Flash Flood Warning was also issued for that same storm.

Meteorologists at the Norman Forecast Office say supercell thunderstorms are likely to move across the state over the next several hours, but low-level wind shear - one of the main ingredients of tornadoes - hasn't developed yet.

"It's possible we could see the storm areas in the west merge and move into the [Interstate] 35 corridor as a line," meteorologist-in-charge David Andra said. "If that occurs it would be a mitigating factor for significant tornadoes."

Updated 2:41 p.m.:

Credit Storm Prediction Center
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Storm Prediction Center

The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Tornado Watch for much of the western half of the state, effective until midnight. It's been classified as a "Particularly Dangerous Situation," a rare designation the Weather Service reserves for special cases.

According to the watch, there's a high probability of tornadoes, including strong twisters rated between EF2 and EF5.

All state agencies are closing their doors at 3 p.m., and more metro-area schools are closing for the day.

The University of Oklahoma has canceled classes and activities after 4:15 p.m., and Rose State College did the same at 2:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City Community College closed its doors at 1:00 p.m., and Moore Public Schools will release students 30 minutes earlier. All absences from MPS campuses after 12:00 p.m. will be excused.

Original Post

Norman Forecast Office Warning Coordination Meteorologist Rick Smith says storms could begin forming around 3 p.m. just east of a dryline – the boundary where storms form.

"We expect that dryline to be sitting somewhere along Highway 81,” Smith said. “Basically from Enid to El Reno, Chickasha, Duncan, Waurika, sometime between 2 and 3 o'clock this afternoon."

East of that location, there's a significant risk of severe weather, but further west, the threat is very low. The dew point temperature – the point where the air is saturated – will be much lower behind the dryline across far western Oklahoma.

Meteorologists say the wind shear isn't favorable for an outbreak of long-track tornadoes across a wide area, but Smith says strong twisters can't be ruled out.

"If we get severe storms to form, somebody's going to get some significant severe weather today,” Smith said. “And all we can really do at this point is pay attention, be aware, and know that that could happen."

Baseball-sized hail is large enough to cause damage to homes and vehicles, and could significantly affect travel between 4 and 7 p.m.

Severe thunderstorm impacts could begin by 3 p.m. in western Oklahoma and last beyond 11 p.m. in southeast Oklahoma.
Credit Norman Forecast Office / National Weather Service
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National Weather Service
Severe thunderstorm impacts could begin by 3 p.m. in western Oklahoma and last beyond 11 p.m. in southeast Oklahoma.

"We still think the Oklahoma City metro area and the I-35 corridor - a county or two on either side - we think those storms will primarily be after 4:00 o'clock today,” Smith said.

The risk of tornadoes will likely increase substantially after 6 p.m. Ada and Durant could see severe storms as late as midnight.

"The tornado risk does maintain itself through the evening into eastern Oklahoma,” NWS Senior Forecaster Wayne Ruff said. “It is, however, maybe slightly less as you get toward Arkansas."

The Mid-Del, Paoli, and Whitebead school districts have canceled classes Tuesday because of the severe weather. The Edmond and Deer Creek districts also suspended all after school activities and athletic events. Oklahoma City Public Schools is ending classes 30 minutes early, and canceled all after school activities.

KGOU is a community-supported news organization and relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online, or by contacting our Membership department.

Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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