At least eight tornadoes were reported to have made landfall in parts of the southern and central United States on Monday evening, as millions of people in the region braced for a rare severe weather threat, forecasters said, warning of the potential for flash flooding and destructive hail.
Four of the tornadoes were reported to have touched down in Oklahoma, one in Tennessee, two in South Dakota, and one in Nebraska, according to meteorologist David Hamrick with the Weather Prediction Center. The extent of the damage was unclear, but more severe weather, including possible tornadoes, were expected.
In Washington County, Oklahoma, there were reports of damage after a tornado near State Highway 123, the county’s emergency management officials said. The National Weather Service issued a rare tornado emergency, warning of catastrophic damage and severe threat to human life, for about 30 minutes in part of northeastern Oklahoma, including Barnsdall in Osage County and Bartlesville in Washington County. Images on social media showed several destroyed buildings in Barnsdall.
More than five million people across parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas were under tornado watches until 11 p.m. local time. At about 12:15 a.m. local time, the Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Oklahoma City and the area east of it.
“This is a particularly dangerous situation,” the National Weather Service said late Monday afternoon on social media of the tornado threat in Oklahoma. In Garfield County, Oklahoma, severe weather destroyed some barns, felled trees, and sent cars hydroplaning into ditches, but no one was injured, said Mike Honigsberg, the emergency management director for the county.
The Storm Prediction Center, part of the Weather Service, predicted its highest risk level for the first time since March 31, 2023. The last high-risk level for Oklahoma was May 20, 2019, when 35 tornadoes spawned across five states, mainly in the Plains.
The severe weather risk comes a week after more than two dozen tornadoes were reported and at least five people were killed in Oklahoma and Iowa, including an infant, the authorities said. The current threat will not end Monday, with more storms forecast for the next couple of days, primarily on Wednesday, from Texas to Ohio.
