Oklahoma tornadoes: Sirens sound again in Oklahoma City as another tornado threat targets the area and the South

CNN
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Severe thunderstorms and flooding rainfall are pounding a large portion of the central and southern United States Monday, including areas still recovering from destructive storms over the weekend.

A line of damaging storms rolling through eastern Oklahoma, northern Texas and southeastern Kansas Monday afternoon will continue to expand in scope as it tracks east throughout the afternoon.

Eastern portions of Oklahoma along with parts of northern Texas, western Arkansas and southwestern Missouri face the most significant severe thunderstorm threat Monday, a level 3 of 5 threat with the potential for strong – EF2 or greater – tornadoes.

A level 2 of 5 threat of severe thunderstorms spans from central and eastern Texas to the Illinois-Missouri border – including Dallas, threatening damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

At least two tornadoes occurred in parts of Oklahoma Monday afternoon, according to warnings from the National Weather Service. One north of Tulsa was confirmed to be “large, extremely dangerous and potentially deadly,” according to the service. Additional tornadoes could form through the evening.

Tornadoes are less common but can happen in fall and winter as cold air clashes with warm, moist air streaming out of the Gulf of Mexico. While climate scientists are less confident in the link between climate change and an increase in severe thunderstorms that produce tornadoes, they are observing tornadoes more frequently during traditionally less active seasons.

Torrential rainfall triggered flash flood warnings for large portions of southern Missouri Monday morning. Around 150,000 people in Missouri were under these warnings at one point late in the morning.

A level 3 of 4 risk of flooding rainfall is in place for parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, according to the Weather Prediction Center. More than 7 million people are under flood watches across northern Texas, most of Oklahoma, southeastern Kansas, northwestern Arkansas and southern Missouri.

Fortunately, the most serious threat for severe thunderstorms and flooding for the rest of the day is east of Oklahoma City, where cleanup continues after least 11 people were injured and homes were leveled over the weekend.

At least five tornadoes, combined with intense flooding from heavy rainfall, ripped through parts of Oklahoma late Saturday into Sunday –– destroying homes and other structures.

Video of the damage from CNN affiliate KOCO shows cars overturned and whole houses shredded. The storms toppled telephone poles and snapped trees in half. Debris is scattered around impacted areas, including large pieces of wood and metal from buildings that were ripped apart.

Nearly 40 structures were destroyed in the Oklahoma City area, the Oklahoma City Fire Department said in a Facebook post. Another 43 structures sustained major damage, while 54 had minor damage.

At least 11 people were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the fire department said Sunday night, adding several others sustained minor injuries but declined to seek medical help.

Tornado sirens sounded again Monday morning in Oklahoma City, after the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning. There were no confirmed tornadoes or reports of damage from Monday morning’s storms.

Edmond Public Schools canceled all classes and school-related activities Monday due to the severe weather. Oklahoma City Public Schools canceled a planned professional learning day for staff Monday due to severe weather conditions. The district’s schools are closed Monday and Tuesday.

Community members in Oklahoma’s Moore Public Schools district have started to send in donations for families affected by the storm.

Katie Anderson, a resident in southeast Oklahoma City, told CNN affiliate KOKH she woke up on Sunday to the sound of a severe storm alert from her phone –– what she initially thought was her alarm for church. She then quickly realized there was debris hitting her house. Heavy rainfall from the storm had collapsed her roof in multiple places.

“Every single thing is replaceable, but people aren’t,” Anderson said. “For us to walk away with no injuries and absolutely no issues at all, that means way more to me than whether or not I have a couch of a roof.”

“It was the loudest that I’ve ever heard in my life,” Thomas Shaver, another Oklahoma City resident, told KOKH, describing a big boom that sounded like a train Sunday morning.

Amid the intense storm, Shaver told KOKH he pulled his daughter and wife into one of the hallways in their house and started praying. He said the bedrooms in his house are now gone –– along with part of the roof.

“A lot of damage to the cars and things but some things survived and we’re still able to get around, so very grateful for that,” he told the outlet.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has issued an emergency declaration for six counties. Officials were working to ensure polling stations across the state would have power ahead of the presidential election Tuesday, Stitt said in a Sunday news conference.

“We’ll advise the public if there’s any issue there with the polling stations and reroute people if we need to,” the governor said. More than 12,000 electricity customers in Oklahoma were still without power early Monday, according to PowerOutage.US.

Stitt warned potential life-threatening conditions will move across the state. “Utility restoration is underway where conditions permit and the state is working closely with local partners to make sure Oklahomans have what they need,” he said in a post on X.

The five tornadoes the National Weather Service has confirmed so far include two believed to have been powerful EF3 twisters, one in Harrah and another near Sooner Road in Cleveland and Oklahoma counties. Tornado strength is measured using the Enhanced Fujita Scale or EF Scale, which rates tornadoes from EF0 to EF5 based on estimated wind speeds and related damage.

Most of the tornadoes hit during the dark overnight hours, with residents waking up to splintered buildings and trails of debris.

Nighttime tornadoes are more than twice as deadly as daytime ones, research shows, since nocturnal tornadoes are difficult to spot in the darkness and those sleeping may not be aware danger is near.