Severe weather returns to central U.S. after storms kill 5 in Oklahoma over Easter weekend
Severe weather is forecast to return to the central United States on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, following a destructive Easter weekend storm system that produced tornadoes and flash floods, resulting in five fatalities in Oklahoma.
WPC Convective Outlook for Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Image credit: NWS/WPC
A 47-year-old woman and her 7-year-old daughter were found dead on Sunday, April 20, in Leonard, Oklahoma, after their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters during a severe weather outbreak that affected multiple central U.S. states over the Easter weekend.
The Bixby Fire Department responded to a water rescue call in the area. While the father and another child escaped the vehicle, the woman and daughter could not be saved. Their bodies were recovered following a search effort that involved over 50 emergency personnel, multiple drones, and a helicopter.
This brought the death toll from the Easter weekend storms to five in Oklahoma.
Severe weather began on Saturday, April 19, impacting large portions of the central United States. The system produced over 22 tornadoes across six states, along with widespread thunderstorms and flash flooding.
After a brief pause on Monday, April 21, severe weather is forecast to return to Texas and Oklahoma on Tuesday, April 22.
A dryline is expected to develop over the Southern High Plains, where it will intersect with moisture streaming northward into the Central Plains. This setup will support the development of showers and severe thunderstorms across the Southern and Central Plains, particularly along and ahead of the frontal boundary and east of the dryline.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/5) for severe thunderstorms over parts of the Southern and Central Plains through Wednesday morning, April 23.
The main concerns for this event would be large hail, strong winds, frequent lightning, and rainfall. Moderate to heavy rain will be possible over the Southern High Plains, prompting the Weather Prediction Center to issue a Marginal Risk (level 1/4) for heavy rainfall over part of the region through Wednesday morning.
Reference:
1 Short Range Forecast Discussion – NWS/WPC – April 22, 2025
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
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