Tornadoes and torrential rain tore over Oklahoma on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, injuring at least eleven people.
At a press conference on Sunday, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt stated that while 100 homes were destroyed throughout the state, no one had died as a result of the storms. According to Stitt, he has declared an emergency in six counties.
Residential areas have “significant” damage, Stitt added.
The number of tornadoes that struck the state is unknown, but the Oklahoma City Fire Department reports that they damaged numerous buildings and brought down electricity lines, traffic lights, and trees.
Newcastle Elementary School in the Oklahoma City metropolitan region suffered significant damage, including tiles that flew off the building’s front, according to video.
Mounds of debris, including sheetrock and timber, were scattered over Oklahoma City. According to the National Weather Service field office in Norman, EF3-level damage (136-165 mph winds) was discovered in Harrah in central Oklahoma, while EF1-level damage (86-110 mph winds) was discovered in Newcastle.
The exact extent of the devastation is still being determined. Tornadoes are rated according to their wind speed using the EF scale.
The mayor of Choctaw, Oklahoma, Chad Allcox, told that the storms “completely leveled” 15 homes in the Railhead area. Forty-nine more houses were damaged.
11/1: Multiple rounds of severe storms are possible this weekend into early next week across the southern + central Plains. All hazards are possible including damaging wind, large hail, and tornadoes. Stay tuned for possible changes to the forecast. https://t.co/QMmU4tCxt1 pic.twitter.com/Ia71t17nVH
— NWS Storm Prediction Center (@NWSSPC) November 1, 2024
Choctaw, located on the southeast corner of Oklahoma City, was directly struck by a tornado that was on the ground for almost 20 miles, although no power lines were downed and no significant casualties were recorded, according to Allcox.
“We definitely weren’t expecting this tornado, but the outpouring of support has been amazing,” he stated. “In bad times there is always something good, and once again the community comes together to help one another pick up the pieces.”
The storms, Allcox continued, are “devastating going into the holidays.”
The field office reported that 11 individuals in Oklahoma County were taken to hospitals via ambulance.
According to fire department spokesperson Scott Douglas, five individuals in Oklahoma City were transported to nearby hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, while a number of others sought care independently.
The fire department said it went to multiple flooded automobiles, but it’s unclear if the tornadoes or the intense rain caused their injuries.
The rest of the middle and southern Plains, including Oklahoma, are still in the dark.
“With the heaviest rain expected to impact central to eastern Oklahoma into portions of northwestern Arkansas and southern Missouri,” the National Weather Service’s advisory states that the severe weather is expected to persist into Monday.
“Multiple rounds of strong-severe thunderstorms are possible today through tonight over parts of the southern Plains,” the weather service’s storm prediction center stated. “Tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail are possible.”
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The threat of severe weather is expected to move toward the Midwest, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and the mid-Mississippi Valley by Monday night.
As of just before 7 p.m. ET, approximately 17,000 utility customers were without power, and the majority of Oklahoma is still under a flood watch with the possibility of significant rainfall, according to Poweroutage.us.
Given the number of power outages occurring throughout the state, Stitt admitted during Sunday’s news conference that Election Day on Tuesday is approaching. According to him, officials are giving top priority to ensuring that every polling station is operational by that time.
