Severe storms will continue to threaten parts of the south-central US on Saturday morning after a powerful system that spawned tornadoes moved through the region, damaging homes in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
At least one person was reported dead and there are “multiple people missing” in McCurtain County in southeastern Oklahoma, where there was significant storm damage after a possible tornado touched down in the town of Idabel, according to county emergency manager Cody McDaniel.
Authorities were still trying to determine the extent of the damage and injuries Friday night, he said, adding, “It’s not good.”
In Texas near the state border with Oklahoma, at least 50 homes were damaged or destroyed in Lamar County as of Friday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said.
Multiple tornado warnings were in effect for Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri Friday night, meaning tornadoes were reported on the ground or indicated by weather radar. The weather service recommends that residents in warning areas move to a safe place such as a basement or interior room.
A preliminary tally Friday afternoon from the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center shows nine tornadoes formed in Texas, four in Arkansas and one in Oklahoma.
Tornadoes at night can be especially dangerous because they can be difficult to see as they move quickly through an area, and it is also more difficult to ensure that residents are warned during these hours.
Additionally, more than 100,000 homes and businesses were without power in Arkansas, Louisiana, southeast Oklahoma and east Texas as of early Saturday, according to Poweroutage.us.
Most of the Texas tornadoes reported occurred along the Red River border with Oklahoma, with extensive damage reported in two counties.
The National Weather Service confirmed late Friday that a 45 mph tornado was located over the town of Wrightsville in Pulaski County, Arkansas, just south of Little Rock.
The number of tornadoes reported will likely increase Saturday, and the intensity of each won’t be known until local National Weather Service offices conduct damage surveys, which could take several days.
A sudden onset of cold weather amid unseasonably warm conditions was forecast to create the biggest tornado threat the US has seen in more than five months.
A severe storm watch remains in effect for parts of eastern Arkansas, northwest Mississippi and western Tennessee until 4 a.m. local time Saturday.
Officials in Lamar County, Texas have declared a disaster after at least 10 people were injured when a tornado ripped through the area, according to a news release from the county sheriff’s office. No deaths have been reported.
Two of the injured suffered serious injuries, the sheriff’s office said. Earlier Friday, a first responder was injured during the storms in the county and underwent surgery, county Sheriff Stephen Hill told CNN.
“There was quite a bit of damage and some injuries,” Lamar County Sheriff Travis Rhodes told CNN Friday night.
In neighboring Hopkins County, at least four homes were damaged Friday, according to the county sheriff’s office.
A woman in Choctaw County, Oklahoma was injured by a falling tree while trying to get to a storm shelter, Lewis Collins, a volunteer with the Choctaw Office of Emergency Management, told CNN. It is unclear if a tornado had occurred in the area.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is praying for those affected by the tornadoes.
“Search and rescue teams and generators have been rushed to the Idabel area,” he lamented. “Storms hit Bryan, Choctaw and Le Flore counties, among others. Additional flooding in some areas.”
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is urging residents to report storm damage online to help coordinate their response.
