Tornado Outbreak Hits Oklahoma
Reports indicate that multiple tornadoes touched down in several counties across Oklahoma on Saturday night, resulting in a trail of destruction. Sadly, the aftermath of the severe weather left at least 1 person dead and several others injured.
The region is currently on high alert for more severe weather following a series of thunderstorms and tornados that swept through from Texas to the Great Lakes over Friday and Saturday. Officials reported a total of 106 tornadoes across six states on Friday, with Nebraska and Iowa being the most severely impacted.
One of the tornadoes in Oklahoma was confirmed to have tracked through western Hughes County around 11 p.m. on Saturday, causing significant damage to numerous buildings along its path.
Mike Dockrey from Hughes County Emergency Management informed CBS News that the tornado resulted in at least four injuries and one fatality.
Images and videos shared on social media early Sunday morning depicted the extensive damage in Sulphur, showing debris strewn across the area, including bricks, beams, and trees. The downtown area bore the brunt of the destruction, with buildings sporting blown-out windows and missing walls.
The Red Cross in Oklahoma announced the opening of a shelter in Sulphur to assist residents affected by recent severe weather. The organization is working closely with officials to address the immediate needs of those impacted across the state.
Various communities in Garfield, Grant, Kay, Payne, and other counties in Oklahoma have reported damage to homes and other structures following the severe weather event.
Following the lifting of tornado warnings, the National Weather Service in Norman stated that flash flooding is now the primary concern in the region.
As of Sunday morning, over 39,000 individuals in Oklahoma and Texas were left without power.
In Kansas, the National Weather Service confirmed the touchdown of a "large and dangerous tornado" near Howard on Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday, the National Weather Service confirmed the occurrence of multiple tornadoes in at least three North Texas counties, including three tornadoes in Navarro County. Among them, two were classified as EF1 tornadoes with wind speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, while the third was an EF0 tornado that touched down north of Frost. The aftermath in the affected areas includes leveled homes, scattered trees, and debris.
The tornadoes that struck the Midwest on Friday night caused widespread destruction, particularly in Nebraska and Iowa. The severe weather event led to the collapse of a building with numerous individuals inside, as well as the destruction and damage of hundreds of homes.
Tornado Strikes Elkhorn Neighborhood of Omaha
On a busy Saturday in the Elkhorn neighborhood of Omaha, the usual sounds of the city were drowned out by the relentless buzz of chainsaws. Elkhorn, a city with a population of 485,000 and a metropolitan area home to about 1 million people, was struck by a devastating tornado.
"We watched it touch down about 200 yards over there," recounted Elkhorn resident Pat Woods. "And then we went to get shelter and we came, but we could hear it going through. When we came back up, our fence was gone and we looked over to the northwest and the whole neighborhood is gone."
The aftermath left by the tornado was shocking, with the National Weather Service still in the process of evaluating the number and strength of the twisters that tore through the area.
As the residents of Elkhorn began to pick up the pieces, a looming threat hung over the region. Nearly 47 million people are at risk for severe weather on Sunday, stretching from east Texas northward into the upper Mississippi River Valley.
