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Damage, But No Injuries As Tornado, Large Hail Move Through Central Oklahoma

Central and southern Oklahoma is in the middle of another round of severe weather, three days after small tornadoes and large hail struck Mustang, Luther, and the Tulsa area.

Updated 5:34 p.m.

The threat of tornadoes and severe weather has moved east out of the Oklahoma City metro, but flooding is now a major concern as heavy rain continues to fall across the region.

A Flood Advisory is in effect until 8:15 p.m. Earlier in the evening a large, rain-wrapped tornado passed through the city of Ninnekah in Grady County southwest of the metro. A mobile home was destroyed and debris was strewn across roadways. No injuries have been reported.

Updated 5:10 p.m.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has reopened Interstate 35 between north Norman and Purcell, and the National Weather Service says the Tornado Warning associated with this storm will be allowed to expire and replaced with a Severe Thunderstorm Warning.

Updated 4:57 p.m.

As severe storms move into the southern tip of the Oklahoma City metro, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has shut down Interstate 35 between mile markers 114 and 98.

Quarter-to-golf ball-sized hail has been reported by emergency managers in Norman and Newcastle.

Updated 4:30 p.m.

The Tornado Warning for the storm moving through Grady County has been extended to included Cleveland and McClain counties, including the cities of Norman, Blanchard, Purcell, and Noble.

Caddo, Cleveland, Grady, and McClain counties are under a Flash Flood Warning until 7:45 p.m.

Updated 4:18 p.m.

A large, powerful rain-wrapped tornado continues to move east through the state about 50 miles south of the Oklahoma City metro.

There's a considerable threat of damage, but so far the storm has moved through mostly rural areas, passing just south of the city of Ninnekah.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority says the westbound lanes of Interstate 44, also known as the H.E. Bailey Turnpike, are closed at Mile Marker 58 due to an overturned semi near Elgin.

The storm should stay south of the Oklahoma City metro, but could affect the communities of Dibble, Washington, and Slaughterville.

Updated 3:56 p.m.

A tornado continues to move through south central Oklahoma, roughly following Interstate 44, which is also known as the H.E. Bailey Turnpike. A Tornado Warning has been extended until 4;45 p.m.

The tornado may be difficult to see due to rain surrounding a funnel or lowering. Visibility is significantly reduced in the areas around the storm. Baseball-sized hail has been reported, and storm chasers in the area reported overturned semis and damaged mobile homes along Interstate 44.

Updated 3:25 p.m.

Meteorologists have issued a Tornado Warning due a thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado moving northeast through Comanche County. The warning includes Grady County, and the storm could arrive in Chickasha shortly after 4 p.m.

Tennis ball-sized hail has been reported with this storm.

Original Post

The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch for the southern half of Oklahoma until 10 p.m., but there’s still quite a bit of uncertainty about what to expect, and where.

“This is different than Tuesday,” said Rick Smith, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Norman Forecast Office. “The key features today are this warm front and the dryline, and where that low pressure area is.”

Cool, dry Rocky Mountain air will meet warm, moist conditions from the Gulf of Mexico over central Oklahoma, converging near a low pressure system over southern Oklahoma that should stay south of Interstate 40.

“Anywhere along and either side of that warm front this afternoon and evening would have higher potential, if a storm can get going and interact with that warm front area, that storm would have a higher potential to produce a tornado,” Smith said during a briefing Friday morning. “We do expect the main threat from the severe storms to be hail and wind, but tornadoes are certainly a possibility.”

The low pressure system could arrive in the Oklahoma City metro around 7 p.m.

Several severe thunderstorms were reported in southwest and north-central Oklahoma Friday afternoon, producing quarter-sized hail.

This latest threat comes just a few days after the Norman-based Storm Prediction Center issued a rare “Particularly Dangerous Situation,” warning of large hail, significant winds, and long-track devastating tornadoes. The twisters never quite materialized in the way meteorologists had feared, leading some to question the agency’s communication efforts.

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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