Major damage after tornadoes rip through parts of Oklahoma and Texas, U.S.
Major damage was reported in parts of Texas and Oklahoma after a series of tornadoes ripped through the region on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. On Thursday, severe thunderstorms are expected from eastern Texas into the mid-Mississippi Valley. Storms will shift over the lower Mississippi into the Tennessee Valleys on Friday, then Saturday into Monday from the central Plains into the Midwest.
Extensive structural damage was reported in the town of Lockett, TX, located about 80 km (50 miles) NW of Wichita Falls. In a phone call with The Weather Channel, a sheriff’s department employee in Wilbarger County said deputies were on the scene as of about 21:40 CDT.1
Another tornado hit Dickens County in the Texas Panhandle, about 80 km (50 miles) east of Lubbock. The tornado tracked east to south of Paducah.
Tornadoes also hit Seminole, OK tearing apart buildings, downing trees and powerlines, and littering streets with debris. Some 12 000 power outages were reported in Seminole County.2
The Academy of Seminole, a public charter school, was among the buildings damaged after taking a direct hit by the tornado.
“We will be accessing the damage over the next few days. Please do not come to the school: it is extremely dangerous. Everyone who was at the school is safe,” school officials said.
Hail as large as 5 cm (2 inches) and more was reported in southwest Oklahoma and parts of the Texas Panhandle and Kansas.
NWS Storm Prediction Center received 8 tornado reports on May 4, most of them from Texas.
Continued severe thunderstorm and flash flood threats Thursday
Severe thunderstorms are expected from eastern Texas into the mid-Mississippi Valley on Thursday, May 5, the National Weather Service warns.
Storms will be capable of producing tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds.
Heavy rainfall may also lead to flash flooding.
On Friday, May 6, storms will shift over the lower Mississippi into the Tennessee Valleys, then Saturday into Monday from the central Plains into the Midwest.
References:
1 Extensive Damage in Parts of Texas, Oklahoma as Tornadoes Roar Through – Weather.com – May 5, 2022
2 Tornadoes rip through Oklahoma and Texas, leaving major damage – NYpost.com – May 5, 2022
Featured image credit: Live Storms Media (stillshot)
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