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Central Oklahoma counties setting tornado records before halfway point in 2023

Downed trees and damaged buildings at Oklahoma Baptist University.
Graycen Wheeler
/
OPMX
Downed trees and damaged buildings at Oklahoma Baptist University.

Oklahoma is in tornado season for a bit longer — and so far this year, it’s been pretty busy.

According to theOklahoma Climatological Survey’s Mesonet, both Cleveland and McClain Counties have already broken records for the number of tornadoes in a calendar year.

Cleveland County has seen 13 tornadoes, while McClain saw 11 tornadoes. The previous records there were both over a decade old.

It was busy in that part of the state last month. Cleveland, McClain and Pottawatomie Counties saw more than two dozen tornadoes combined.A storm in mid-May dropped at least 11 funnels.

Back in April, an outbreak of tornadoes through Central Oklahoma killed three people and leveled homes. The tiny town of Cole took a direct hit. Those storms even punched holes into several buildings at Oklahoma Baptist University and knocked out power for people in Shawnee for days.

So far this year, Oklahoma has had a total of 50 tornadoes. In 2022, the state had 57 twisters.

This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.

Kateleigh Mills joined KOSU in March 2018, following her undergraduate degree completion from the University of Central Oklahoma in December 2017.
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