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Chicago Tribune
20-04-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Tornado-producing storm deals deadly flooding and large hail to Oklahoma and Texas
A slow-moving, active storm system brought heavy rain, large hail and tornadoes to parts of Texas and Oklahoma and left two people dead as severe weather warnings Sunday continue to threaten parts of the south-central and Midwest U.S. On Easter Sunday, communities in Texas and Oklahoma were beginning to assess the damage wreaked by tornadoes. There were 17 reported events Saturday, according to Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. Five were confirmed in south-central Oklahoma, including one that inflicted substantial damage on a small town that was still recovering from a March tornado. The storm also brought heavy rain to a broad swath of north-central Texas across central-eastern Oklahoma, much of which saw 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) accumulate Saturday into Sunday. Police in Moore, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City, received dozens of reports of 'high-water incidents' over the weekend, including two cars stranded in flood waters Saturday evening. One car was swept away under a bridge, and police said they were able to rescue some people, but a woman and 12-year-old boy were found dead. 'This was a historical weather event that impacted roads and resulted in dozens of high-water incidents across the city,' Moore police said in a statement Sunday. Moore has about 63,000 residents. Oravec said the system wasn't moving much over Texas and Oklahoma Saturday, leaving the area stuck under a very active thunderstorm pattern that produced large hail, flash flooding and tornadoes. Bill Macon, emergency management director in Oklahoma's Marshall County, said their early assessments show a tornado 'skipped and jumped around' over a path of 6 to 7 miles (about 10 to 11 kilometers) in the rural area that left at least 20 homes damaged, with some destroyed completely. Macon said people were mostly home when the late night tornado came through, downing 'huge' trees and dozens of electric poles and power lines, but there had not been reports of injuries or fatalities. 'We take those things pretty serious down here in Oklahoma,' Macon said of the National Weather Service's warnings. One Oklahoma town that was still rebuilding from an early March tornado was hit again late Saturday. The north side of Ada, a town home to about 16,000 people, sustained damage that the weather service said indicated at least an EF1 tornado — with wind speeds between 86 and 110 mph (138 to 177 kph) — based on a preliminary survey. Social media posts showed roofs ripped off businesses in town, storefront windows blown in and billboards knocked sideways. In a video posted to Facebook, Jason Keck, Ada director of emergency management, said the tornado seemed to track across the north side of town to a shopping center, 'leaving a lot of damage to buildings, power lines and trees.' One clothing store was 'severely damaged,' according to The Ada News, but 'bracketed on both sides by intact structures.' At least two tornadoes crossed west Parker County, Texas, on Saturday, the county's emergency services said on Facebook. Emergency crews were dispatched to several houses with roofs torn off and homes exposed, photos showed. One detached roof ended up smashed across a driveway. The whole storm system is moving northeast into Arkansas, Missouri, southern Illinois and southeastern Iowa, Oravec said. While it's moving faster, he said, the active system still carries the threat of large hail, high winds and tornadoes to the region. While heavy rain was subsiding in Texas and Oklahoma by late Sunday afternoon, additional heavy rain is expected across parts of the Plains this week, Oravec said. With streams already swollen and the ground saturated, that leaves the area at risk of additional flooding. Originally Published:
The Independent
20-04-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Tornado-producing storm deals deadly flooding and large hail to Oklahoma and Texas
A slow-moving, active storm system brought heavy rain, large hail and tornadoes to parts of Texas and Oklahoma and left two people dead as severe weather warnings Sunday continue to threaten parts of the south-central and Midwest U.S. On Easter Sunday, communities in Texas and Oklahoma were beginning to assess the damage wreaked by tornadoes. There were 17 reported events Saturday, according to Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service 's Weather Prediction Center. Five were confirmed in south-central Oklahoma, including one that inflicted at least EF1 damage on a small town that was still recovering from a March tornado. The storm also brought heavy rain to a broad swath of north-central Texas across central-eastern Oklahoma, which saw 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) accumulate Saturday into Sunday. Police in Moore, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City, received dozens of reports of 'high-water incidents' over the weekend, including two cars stranded in flood waters Saturday evening. One car was swept away under a bridge, and police said they were able to rescue some people, but a woman and 12-year-old boy were found dead. 'This was a historical weather event that impacted roads and resulted in dozens of high-water incidents across the city,' Moore police said in a statement Sunday. Moore has a about 63,000 residents. Oravec said the system wasn't moving much over Texas and Oklahoma Saturday, leaving the area stuck under a very active thunderstorm pattern that produced large hail, flash flooding and tornadoes. Bill Macon, emergency management director in Oklahoma's Marshall County, said their early assessments show a tornado 'skipped and jumped around' over a path of 6 to 7 miles (about 10 to 11 kilometers) in the rural area that left at least 20 homes damaged, with some destroyed completely. Macon said people were mostly home when the late night tornado came through, downing 'huge' trees and dozens of electric poles and power lines, but there had not been reports of injuries or fatalities. 'We take those things pretty serious down here in Oklahoma,' Macon said of the National Weather Service's warnings. One Oklahoma town that was still rebuilding from an early March tornado was hit again late Saturday. The north side of Ada, a town home to about 16,000 people, sustained damage that the weather service said indicated at least an EF1 tornado based on a preliminary survey. In a video posted to Facebook, Jason Keck, Ada director of emergency management, said the tornado seemed to track across the north side of town, 'leaving a lot of damage to buildings, power lines and trees.' Other social media posts showed roofs ripped off businesses in town, storefront windows blown in and billboards knocked sideways. At least two tornadoes crossed west Parker County, Texas, on Saturday, the county's emergency services said on Facebook, causing significant damage and power outages. The whole storm system is moving northeast into Arkansas, Missouri and southeastern Iowa, Oravec said. While it's moving faster, he said, the active system still carries the threat of large hail, high winds and tornadoes to the region. While heavy rain was subsiding in Texas and Oklahoma by late Sunday afternoon, additional heavy rain is expected across parts of the Plains this week, Oravec said. With streams already swollen and the ground saturated, that leaves the area at risk of additional flooding.
Observer
15-03-2025
- Climate
- Observer
Forecasters issue highest risk alert for Tornadoes
Forecasters believe that particularly intense, long-lasting severe storms at a level typically experienced only once or twice in a lifetime could sweep through parts of the South. The National Weather Service issued the highest risk for tornadoes and began issuing tornado warnings for swaths of the Midwest on Friday night. 'Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter,' the weather service warned residents in parts of western Illinois. 'Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur.' An 'extremely dangerous' tornado moving at 55 mph was confirmed in eastern Missouri, according to the weather service. These storms are all connected to the intense storm system wreaking havoc across the central U.S. that within the past day has brought damaging strong winds, tornadoes across the Midwest and dust storms and wildfires sweeping across the Plains. Storms will be moving extremely fast and may catch people off guard. They have the potential to form numerous significant tornadoes, damaging hurricane-force winds, and golf ball- or even baseball-size hail. The most dangerous threat to tornadoes would likely be across Louisiana and Mississippi late morning into early afternoon. From the afternoon into the evening the storms are expected to sweep across Alabama and possibly into Tennessee before crossing into Georgia and northern Florida overnight. According to the Storm Prediction Center, it is likely the third time in history the Storm Prediction Center has issued a high-risk warning on the second day of a storm. Central Mississippi and Alabama face the highest risk level, 5, in the centre's rating system. The Gulf Coast states and Georgia face a high risk level of 4. Storms at this highest level of alert can oftentimes produce intense long-track tornadoes, meaning they stay on the ground for a very long time. A slow storm will typically only affect one or two communities, but a faster-moving storm such as this one can cross multiple states, leaving a long trail of damage. Tornadoes typically occur across the South from mid-March until late April, when the risk shifts to the Plains. Notable springtime Southern tornadoes include one that ripped a hole in the roof of the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta during the Southeastern Conference college basketball tournament on March 14, 2008; a deadly tornado that carved a path through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on April 27, 2011; and one that killed 19 just east of Nashville, Tennessee, on March 3, 2020. The threat of severe weather is expected to continue into the weekend, as the front pushes eastward. 'There is a slight chance of severe weather anywhere from North Florida all the way up along the East Coast to the Washington, D.C., area, Philadelphia and just outside New York City,' said Bob Oravec, the lead forecaster at the Weather Prediction Center. 'It's not going to be as great a risk as areas farther to the west.'
Boston Globe
17-02-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
Latest blast of winter weather cuts deadly path through Kentucky, other states
'So folks, stay off the roads right now and stay alive,' he said. 'This is the search and rescue phase, and I am very proud of all the Kentuckians that are out there responding, putting their lives on the line.' Advertisement Beshear said there have been 1,000 rescues across the state since the storms began Saturday. The storms knocked out power to about 39,000 homes, but Beshear warned that harsh winds in some areas could increase outages. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Parts of Kentucky and Tennessee received up to 6 inches of rain, said Bob Oravec, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service. 'The effects will continue for awhile, a lot of swollen streams and a lot of flooding going on,' Oravec said Sunday. Water submerged cars and buildings in Kentucky and mudslides blocked roads in Virginia late Saturday into Sunday. Both states were under flood warnings, along with Tennessee and Arkansas. The mother and child were swept away Saturday night in Kentucky's Bonnieville community, Hart County Coroner Tony Roberts said. In southeastern Kentucky, a 73-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in Clay County, county Emergency Management Deputy Director Revelle Berry said. There were a total of four deaths in Hart County, Beshear said. In Alabama, the weather service in Birmingham said it had confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down overnight in Hale County. Storms there and elsewhere in the state destroyed or damaged a handful of mobile homes, downed trees, and toppled power lines, but no injuries were immediately reported. Extensive damage to downtown roofs and buildings was reported in the northern city of Tuscumbia, with authorities asking people to avoid the area, according to WAFF-TV and other local media. Advertisement A levee failed in the small community of Rives, Tenn., Saturday afternoon, flooding nearby neighborhoods and spurring rescue efforts by fire officials in west Tennessee. In Atlanta, a person was killed when a large tree fell on a home early Sunday, according to Atlanta Fire Rescue Captain Scott Powell. Elsewhere, bone-chilling cold is expected for the Northern Plains. Dangerously cold wind chill temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero were expected in most of North Dakota, which remained under an 'extreme cold warning' along with large swaths of South Dakota and Minnesota, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologists said the country was about to get its 10th and coldest polar vortex stretching event this season, with the northern Rockies and northern Plains first in line. Weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that usually stays near the North Pole into the United States and Europe.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Millions in US under winter storm alerts
(NewsNation) — Large areas of the nation are digging out after a strong storm brought moderate to heavy snowfall across parts of the Upper Great Lakes on Saturday before intensifying overnight across the Northeast. The National Weather Service said a storm over the central and southern plains will move northeastward, producing a swath of 4 to 8 inches of snow across parts of Minnesota and the Great Lakes. How to get free Starbucks after the Super Bowl Saturday night into Sunday, upstate New York and New England could see up to a foot of accumulation. Hazardous travel conditions were likely due to low visibility and snow-covered roads. In the meantime, a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Ohio Valley into the northern Mid-Atlantic region could result in significant icing in the Central Appalachians, forecasters said. Freezing rain on roadways was expected to make travel dangerous, and power outages were possible. 'One good thing with this storm, it is moving pretty quickly, so it's not gonna be a prolonged winter weather event,' said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland. 'It looks like the snow will definitely be coming to an end earlier in the day on Sunday, after which the weather will be fairly tranquil for a few days.' The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
