More RED states smackdown: Tornado Watch Issued For Central Oklahoma
Psalm 110
Tornado Watch Issued For Central Oklahoma
UPDATED - Thursday May 08, 2003 2:38pm Posted By: Kevin King
Tulsa - More severe weather is in store for the area today as another
round of showers and thunderstorms are expected to move across
northeastern Oklahoma.
A tornado watch is now in effect until 9:00 for 35 counties in
Oklahoma. Those include four counties in east central and northeast
Oklahoma. Those counties include: Creek, Okfuskee, Osage and Pawnee.
Storms are expected to develop rapidly over central Oklahoma and move
into eastern Oklahoma between four and six o'clock Thursday afternoon.
Storms that form will likely become severe very quickly.
Baseball-size hail and damaging wind gusts to 70 miles per hour can be
expected. Isolated tornadoes will also be possible today, mainly in
northeastern Oklahoma.
Parts of Oklahoma have already seen some wicked weather Thursday.
Tornado warnings were issued for Pittsburg and LeFlore counties early
Thursday morning and there were numerous reports of wind damage in
Latimer and LeFlore Counties, including a barn that was leveled by a
possible twister near Summerfield.
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http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1433&dept_id=170166&newsid=7950217&PAG=461&rfi=9
Tornadoes hit state
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Two people reportedly were injured and five
mobile homes destroyed in Itawamba County early Wednesday by a
possible tornado as more severe weather moved into Mississippi.
Amy Carruth, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management
Agency, said the storm hit Itawamba County about 1 a.m. Wednesday.
"We've got five mobile homes with major damage. We've got two people
with injuries that were taken to the hospital," Carruth said. "There
are numerous trees, but no power lines down."
The two people injured were treated and released from an area
hospital, Carruth said.
One house received minor damage, authorities said. The possible
tornado was the third reported since the weather system moved into the
state Monday night, packing heavy rain, strong winds and hail.
An apparent tornado touched down near the Lee-Itawamba County line
about 11 p.m. Tuesday, damaging several homes in the rural area of
northeast Mississippi, authorities said.
At least five trailer homes received extensive damage, authorities
said, but no injuries were reported and all the people initially
thought to be missing were accounted for. Tornado warnings were issued
Wednesday for several counties, including Coahoma, Bolivar, Sunflower,
Quitman, and Tallahatchie. Tornado watches and flash flood warnings
were also issued in portions of central and north Mississippi.
"We have not been hard hit yet," Carruth said. "The storms are...in
Louisiana and they are headed this way, so central and north
Mississippi will probably be under the gun throughout the rest of the
day."
Severe thunderstorms soaked parts of Warren and Hinds counties on
Tuesday and pounded northern areas of the state Monday.
Jim Butch, a forecaster with the National Weather Service office in
Jackson, said it appeared most of south Mississippi had escaped the
violent weather.
"But that was not the case elsewhere," he said. "We put out 14
warnings for Bolivar County (Monday). It was one storm after another."
Flooding continued to be a threat over many northern counties as a
result of the constant, torrential rains that fell Monday.
Meanwhile, officials in Benton County were assessing damage caused by
an apparent tornado Monday morning.
Carruth said reports from Benton County indicated at least 10 homes
with damage, along with downed trees and power lines.