Another Round Of Large Hail, Damaging Winds And Heavy Rain Moves Through Oklahoma

Updated 7:22 p.m.: Tornado Warning expires, damage reported in far west Norman

The Tornado Warning for Seminole, Pottawatomie, and Lincoln counties has been allowed to expire.

Power poles were bent and lines are down along 48th Ave. NW near Robinson Ave. Residents were trapped in their neighborhood briefly. Downed lines trapped a pair of firefighters in their engine Friday evening, but they were able to get out safely.

Heavy flooding was also reported on city streets in Moore, Norman, and Oklahoma City.

As we reported earlier, the Cleveland County Family YMCA suffered significant damage during the storm. Windows were blown out, but there are no reports of injuries. The facility is closed until further notice, and Saturday morning soccer games and practices have been postponed.

Updated 7:00 p.m.: Tornado Warning issued for Seminole, Lincoln, Pottawatomie counties

The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning due to a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado moving about five miles east of Little. The storm is moving east along Interstate 40 at 25 miles per hour.

Any tornado that forms will likely be wrapped in rain and difficult to see, especially as the sun sets.

Updated 6:05 p.m.: Several major highways reporting high water, impassable conditions

Oklahoma City police, city officials, and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation say heavy rainfall and hail have flooded major interstate highways, tying up traffic on the tail-end of the Friday evening commute.

Interstate 235 is reportedly impassable at NE 50th Street, and Del City fire officials say Sunnylane Road is flooded between NE 4th Street and Reno Ave. Brandon Pursell with the Del City fire department says there's an overturned fuel tanker in that location.

ODOT advises drivers to avoid the area between NW 36th Street and Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City, an area prone to flooding during heavy rain.

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Updated 5:47 p.m.: University of Oklahoma cancels Friday graduation ceremonies

The University of Oklahoma has canceled the commencement ceremonies that would've taken place Friday evening. Earlier in the day OU moved the outdoor ceremony from Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to the Lloyd Noble Center before scrapping the program entirely.

Updated 5:42 p.m.: Large hail causes damage in Norman

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A large hail storm blew through Norman Friday afternoon, blowing out windows at the Cleveland County YMCA just north of Robinson Street, and also cracking the windows of homes near Flood Ave.

Hail up to the size of golf balls was reported in Norman, and quarter-sized hail was confirmed at the intersection of 36th Ave. NW and Indian Hills Road in far northwest Norman, just south of the border with Moore.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric reports several thousand power outages in central Oklahoma.

Updated 4:56 p.m.: Multiple Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued, large hail reported

Two Severe Thunderstorm Warnings have been issued for the Oklahoma City metro, and heavy rain is affecting drivers headed home Friday afternoon.

Hail up to the size of baseballs and 60 mile-per-hour winds have been reported in Carnegie.

Updated 4:28 p.m.: Flash Flood Warning issued for central Oklahoma

The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning for central Oklahoma. Heavy rain is falling across the metro, especially in McClain and Canadian counties. National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Rick Smith says flooding and high water could affect the evening commute during rush hour.

Widespread flooding on Wednesday led to the first-ever Flash Flood Emergency, an historic designation meteorologists say was designed to reflect the gravity of the situation. As much as eight inches of rain fell across the state. 

Updated 4:14 p.m.: Tornado Watch extended into metro Oklahoma City

Credit Norman Forecast Office / National Weather Service

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National Weather Service

The Tornado Watch issued early Friday afternoon has been extended to include more of central Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City metro.

Cleveland, Oklahoma Pontotoc, and Seminole counties are now included in the watch.

Storms are moving through central Oklahoma, and a Tornado Warning was issued for a supercell capable of producing a twister near the Oklahoma-Texas border, well outside the KGOU coverage area.

Updated 1:06 p.m.: Tornado Watch issued for counties south, west of Oklahoma City

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National Weather Service

The Norman Forecast Office of the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch Friday afternoon for much of the southwestern corner of Oklahoma. It includes counties just to the south of Norman and the Oklahoma City metro.

Meteorologists say the tornado threat is lower than it was earlier for central Oklahoma, but it's not zero and there's still a risk of tornadoes. There's also a significant flash flooding threat if storms develop and produce heavy rainfall.

Area schools are already taking precautions, with many canceling afternoon and evening activities both Friday and Saturday. The University of Oklahoma also moved its graduation commencement ceremony from the outdoor Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Updated 11:46 a.m.: Area most likely to see significant severe weather shifted south

The National Weather Service has updated the risk area of severe weather for central Oklahoma, and shifted the moderate and enhanced risk areas south. The Oklahoma City metro area is no longer included in the moderate risk area.

Meteorologists say the Red River Valley of southern Oklahoma and northern Texas could see the best chance for significant storms. There's still a possibility of tornadoes in that location, but flash flooding, damaging winds, and hail are the primary concerns.

Original Post

As Oklahoma continues to recover less than 48 hours after unprecedented flooding and several tornadoes killed one person and injured dozens, the state is bracing for more severe weather this weekend.

National Weather Service warning coordination meteorologist Rick Smith says the main concern Friday will be very large hail and damaging straight-line winds, but a few tornadoes may also occur.

“3 p.m. to 11 p.m., the medium tornado potential now, if we’re going on a scale from one to four, we’re at a three now, over parts of southwest Oklahoma and western North Texas,” Smith said.

Credit Norman Forecast Office / National Weather Service

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National Weather Service

Tornadoes are more likely Saturday though, and Norman Forecast Office meteorologists say a strong tornado or two may also occur, especially with some of the longer-lived storms.

“Nothing is set in stone, not a guarantee it’s even going to happen, but Saturday is a day I’m concerned about,” Smith said. “If you’ve got travel plans, if you’ve got outdoor activities, graduation ceremonies, Mother’s Day travel, whatever’s going on Saturday, this is one of those days you need to be paying extra attention.”

Most of the region is under a flood watch through Sunday evening due to the potential for multiple rounds of heavy rainfall. The ground is already saturated, and can’t absorb much more water, so heavy rain could lead to additional flash and river flooding in some areas.

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