Sunday, May 17, 2015

MOTHER NATURE RELENTLESS: TWO DOZEN TORNADOES, HAIL, HEAVY RAIN, FLOODS STRIKE MID SECTION OF UNITED STATES AGAIN













 










 








MAY 17, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)

A powerful storm system stretching from Texas to Minnesota raked the nation's midsection early Sunday, hours after kicking up damaging tornadoes in Oklahoma and heavy wind and rain around the region.

There were no immediate reports of any deaths or injuries. Forecasters said the system was continuing its march eastward as radar showed storms across Iowa, Missouri and a large area of Texas.

Tornadoes touched down Saturday in southwestern Oklahoma near the towns of Elmer and Tipton, said National Weather Service forecaster Daryl Williams. He said another tornado touched down briefly near Elk City along Interstate 40, and there were several other possible tornadoes.

Authorities said they had reports a tornado touched down late Saturday northeast of Tulsa. And there were reports of large hail, some the size of baseballs in the state.

Oklahoma emergency officials said they also received reports of damage Saturday to homes and businesses and significant damage to power lines. Rain and wind were moving overnight across parts of Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota, where there were some additional reports of possible tornadoes.

Bill Bunting, chief of operations for the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, said early Sunday that flash floods remained a concern in some areas in the wake of previous storms. He said damaging straight-line winds up to 60 mph were also a feature of the system in some areas.

"We are seeing pockets of damaging winds from Missouri south to northeast Oklahoma," Bunting said by phone early Sunday.

He said the storm grew out of a cold front extending from the North Central Plains into the Southern Plains that pushed up behind warm, moist air.
"It's a very strong upper level disturbance," Bunting said, noting it stretched at one point nearly to the U.S. border with Mexico. "It's as extensive an area as we've seen this year."

In Oklahoma, Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said damage was reported in western Oklahoma and more than 3,000 power outages were reported statewide at one point on Saturday. She said power polls fell and roofs were damaged.

"This is just still very, very preliminary, but we're hearing a lot of damage to power lines, outbuildings. We've also heard reports of damage to homes and businesses, primarily in Major County and Roger Mills County," Cain said.
She said an emergency manager in the Tulsa area reported a tornado there touched down northeast of that big city shortly before midnight but it and associated storms then moved off into nearby Missouri.

"We haven't had any reports of damage" from that tornado early Sunday, Cain said by phone. "Of course, it was almost midnight and very dark so we might hear of damage" later Sunday.

Cain said authorities in Wagoner County in the state's northeast also reported roof damage and power poles down but that teams would have to inspect that damage after daybreak Sunday.

Cain warned a risk of isolated flooding remained Sunday.

"We've gotten a lot of rain in a short time. The ground is saturated, so every time we get another big soaking, the rain causes more flash flooding," Cain said.

U.S. Highway 283 at Elmer was closed because of a downed power line and the town was without power, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported. Public Service Company of Oklahoma reported about 1,800 power outages in the region.

Jared Guyer, a forecaster with the weather service's Storm Prediction Center, said storms with rain and hail could continue Sunday.

Last weekend's weather caused several tornadoes, flooding and at least four deaths.


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Mother nature unleashed: We are at the peak of the tornado season, and Tornadoes touch down in parts of Texas, Oklahoma again


 (Reuters) - Several tornadoes touched down in northwest Texas and western Oklahoma Saturday evening, part of an night of severe weather predicted for a swath of the U.S. ranging from Oklahoma to Nebraska, the National Weather Service said.

The twisters that swept down to the ground in the Texas panhandle and in Oklahoma in the early part of the evening landed in areas that were not highly populated, said Keli Pirtle, a spokeswoman for the Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service. 

Throughout the central and southern Great Plains of the U.S. forecasters predicted thunderstorms, high winds, hail and more tornadoes for Saturday night.

A tornado that hit the city of Van, Texas, southeast of Dallas, May 10 killed two people and caused $40 million in damage, authorities said.

About 90 houses were destroyed in the town, which has a population of 2,500.