Mammatus clouds hover over Highway 412 near Chouteau, Okla., Tuesday. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
A severe storm with hail and high winds snapped utility poles for a mile-long stretch of 12th Ave. NE in Norman, Oklahoma Tuesday June 14, 2011. Several people were trapped in their cars for s few hours until the power could be disconnected. (AP Photo/The Norman Transcript, Jerry Laizure)
: As the storms continue to weaken and move into Arkansas, let's recap and look ahead a couple days.
As a cold front swept across the state, severe thunderstorms did too. Central Oklahoma saw the
worst of it, with baseball-sized hail reported by the National Weather Service and at least one person injured, according to the AP. As the storms pushed east toward Tulsa, they began to lose that daytime heating and weaken somewhat. However, they were still severe when they came through northeast Oklahoma, with numerous power outages reported in Tulsa County.
We did get some much-needed rain though. According to the Oklahoma Mesonet recording stations in the area, Oilton got 0.28 inches and Bixby received 0.22 inches. At the time of this post, the official NWS recording stations haven't reported any rain, but that will change.
And by the weekend, the phrase "cold front" will seem like a cruel joke. High temperatures are forecast to approach 100 with windy conditions; much like having a blow dryer in your face when you step outside.
Our next chances of rain are forecast for the beginning of next week.
Update 10:38: The storms continue to weaken as they move further into northeast Oklahoma, but they have picked up speed. Warnings now in Mayes County. Quarter size hail with 75 mph gusts, moving east at 50 mph. Public Service Company of Oklahoma is reporting that just under 1,000 customers in Tulsa County are without power. But it sounds like we definitely missed the worst of it in this part of the state. At least one person was injured by the storms in Norman, according to the AP.
Update 10:10: Well that was fast. Tulsa is in the clear now, for the most part. The heaviest part of the storm is in Rogers County now, approaching Verdigris and Claremore. New warnings for Nowata and Rogers counties until 10:45 p.m. The warning for Tulsa County has expired.
Update 9:45: The worst of it is now entering Tulsa proper and is currently over Sand Springs. I haven't heard reports over the scanners of any major damage. If you see anything, let us know at
news@tulsaworld.com.
Update 9:25: Severe Thunderstorm Warning for northwestern Creek, southeastern Osage, eastern Pawnee and western Tulsa counties. NWS is calling for golf ball-sized hail and 60 mph winds. The strongest right now is around Mannford. Moving southeast at 30 mph, the warning is in affect until 10 p.m. It looks like it will rake right across the metro.
Update 9:10: A particularly nasty cell that did some of that damage in Oklahoma City weakened quite a bit as it came up the Turnpike. It's about to get to Sapulpa and Sand Springs before hitting Tulsa. But another line behind it popped up within the last 45 minutes-hour that could be pretty rough too.
Thunderstorms, some of them severe, are rolling through central Oklahoma now, working their way toward us.
Tulsa could see some nice rainfall from these, but a big concern is the nasty hail and lightning.
My friends down in Norman and Oklahoma City had a pretty rough time earlier this afternoon. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were flooded (ha) with the typical hail-in-your-hand photos, downed trees and power lines photos.
The National Weather Service reported baseball size hail in Lincoln County. Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported thousands of power outages.
From the Associated Press: "The National Weather Service reported wind gusts between 65 mph and 70 mph with a storm that moved through Norman and Cleveland County early Tuesday night. Television footage showed snapped power poles and power lines down across streets and on Interstate 35, causing traffic to slow in the area."
In northeast Oklahoma, we have a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms and a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until midnight. The NWS also posted a
special weather statement, warning people who are outside of dangerous lightning that will be "deceptive" from weaker storms.
Keep checking back here. I'll be updating until they blow through the area.
Also, hop over to our
weather page for NWS forecasts and live radar.
--Jerry Wofford
