Posted on 05/16/2010 4:33:28 PM PDT by Star Traveler
Strong to severe thunderstorms are moving through Oklahoma this afternoon.
Published: May 16, 2010
Severe thunderstorms are tracking across Oklahoma, including one storm responsible for a tornado warning near Kingfisher this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
No tornadoes have been reported, and the warning was allowed to expire.
Most of central and eastern Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas, is under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m., and large hail, tornadoes and heavy downpours possible, forecasters said.
The storm prompted the tornado warning near Kingfisher about 3 p.m., but did not produce one before the warning expired.
The same storm entered the northeastern fringe of the Oklahoma City metro area about 3:40 p.m., moving southeast through Edmond, north Oklahoma City and into downtown by about 4:15 p.m., radar imagery showed. The leading edge of the storm began moving out of the metro about 4:45 p.m.
Damage widespread in north Oklahoma City
Golf ball-sized hail pounded northwest Oklahoma City as the storm moved through. Car windshields were blown out and some roadways and ditches were flooded. Motorists with damaged cars were pulled over in parking lots across the northern metro this evening with cell phones pressed to their ears. Leaves and branches from damaged trees littered the landscape.
Paramedics responded to 25 calls related to the hail, including seven people with serious injuries, Emergency Medical Services Authority spokeswoman Lara O'Leary said. Two ambulance windshields were blown out during the storm.
Oklahoma City fire Deputy Chief Cecil Clay said firefighters responded to numerous crashes, injuries and at least three structure fires during the storm.
"Those came at an inopportune time," Clay said.
No serious injuries were reported in the fires. Clay said he does not believe hail caused any life-threatening injuries.
Damage to buildings and cars near NW 63 and N May Avenue was widespread. Bewildered people wandered the parking lots amid scores of heavily damaged cars.
Hail was piled so deep outside of the Chelino's restaurant that motorists had trouble getting out of the parking lot, said Rick Hartline, a manager at nearby Push, Pedal and Pull, an exercise equipment retailer.
"Golf ball-sized hail was coming down sideways across May," said Hartline, a lifelong Oklahoman who said he hadn't ever seen a hail storm this week.
Hartline said cars in parking lots throughout the area were heavily damaged, along with roofs. The roof to his store was damaged with water leaking through the ceiling.
About a half dozen vehicles pulled over outside of The Oklahoman on the Broadway Extension service road south of Britton Road during the storm. Large hail blew out their windshields and sun roofs and left craters all over the sheet metal.
Shade Ehart, 18, was on her way to check her new schedule at work when the storm moved into the city.
"I left my apartment like two miles away from here, and it started hailing," Ehart said. "I was definitely freaking out."
The windshield on Ehart's fiancee's pickup was blown out, but she wasn't hurt.
The roof at the Buy For Less grocery store at N Portland Avenue and the Northwest Expressway was damaged in the storms. Water was leaking onto the floor from the ceiling, but the store was still open.
Customers and employees had trouble speaking to each other because the sound of falling hail was too loud during the storm. Store workers were protecting cash registers and produce from the dripping water with plastic tarps after it passed.
Shay Morrison, 28, a shopper in the store, said she saw a bleeding man come in from the parking lot, but he refused medical treatment.
Mike Ipong, 19, was parked at the Homeland at W Britton Road and N Pennsylvania Avenue when hail "larger than golf balls" battered his windshield and smashed off a side mirror.
Dispatchers in Kingfisher, Okarche, Piedmont and Edmond reported no significant damage, although some windows were reported broken by hail.
The Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. reported about 4,400 customers were without power about 6 p.m., all in the Oklahoma City area.
Storm chances continue into next week
More of the same is possible each day of the week through Thursday, according to the weather service. Partly cloudy skies without the threat of afternoon or evening storms could return Friday.
Most Oklahoma Mesonet stations recorded at least a trace amount of rainfall between midnight and 11 a.m. today, except a few dry spots in a swath of western Oklahoma. Stations in the metro recorded between a trace and just under a tenth of an inch.
Several rounds of rain throughout the week could bring localized flooding in some areas, forecasters said.
Oklahoma City-area forecast
- Tonight: Twenty percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy. Low around 60. North-northeast winds around 7 mph.
- Monday: Mostly cloudy. High near 80. North winds 6 to 10 mph.
- Monday night: Thirty percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy. Low around 59. North-northeast winds around 6 mph becoming southeast.
Definitely a nice piece of hail. Nice, that is, as long as my car is in the garage.
Dang, the Safelite repair, Safelite replace, commercial comes to mind..
Another round of severe weather pounded the Oklahoma City metro area throughout Sunday afternoon. Up to baseball and golf ball sized hail damaged cars, homes, and other structures from Piedmont to Midwest City. Oklahoma City Fire Chief Deputy Cecil Clay said they responded to 3 structure fires in connection with the storm, and they also dealt with power lines that are down. The fire department also responded to multiple car accidents involved with the storm.
The hail started falling around 3:30pm in Northwest Oklahoma City, Edmond, Nichols Hills, the Village, as well as Midwest City. Significant damage to car windows, and home windows was reported along NW 122nd St., and near Lake Hefner. Flooding was reported on W. Memorial Road, and I-235 northbound near 50th St.
EMSA says they responded to 25 total injury calls in the metro. Seven of them were for traumatic injuries, 7 involved people who were hurt when their vehicle windows were damaged because of the hail, 5 calls were for lacerations, and 2 involved EMSA vehicles being hit by hail.
According to OG&E thousands were without power Sunday afternoon, most of which were in North Oklahoma City, the Village, and Nichols Hills. Traffic lights were out at W. Memorial Rd. and May Ave. near Quail Springs Mall.
The KSBI Thunder TV Weather Team will keep you updated on any other severe weather threatening the state.
I hope everyone is okay.
I hope everyone is okay.
I was just looking on the radar map to see which direction that storm was going (if it was going in the direction of Tulsa). Well, it's not and I guess we're okay in Tulsa, for now..., unless another thunderstorm like that one develops. The forecast is for Severe Thunderstorms in this area, too... but you never can tell where they're gonna develop.
that front yard looks like a driving range...God bless and stay safe.
You get above baseball size and the car will be fine inside your garage, but you'll need a new roof.
Stay safe.
Oh crap!
I suffered through one of those when I was stationed at Tinker in OKC. It put holes in our roof and did severe damage to the AWACS planes parked on the ramp at Tinker, not to mention the cars that got whacked. There were hail sales at car lots all over the city after that one.
that’s pretty big.
I’ll never forget the day I was taking a nap on my couch and was awoke by what I thought was neighborhood kids whacking the side of my house with baseball bats. It was softball sized hail. My motorcycle was sitting outside and I was standing at my front door with a blanket too chicken to run out and cover it. These things actually made sound as they fell through the air. It was like meteorites. Tree branches were falling down. Cars were totaled. Some houses in my neighborhood had hailstones pass through the roof and ceiling and land on the floors inside the houses. If they hit concrete, they disintegrated. if they hit ground, they bounced like 15 feet in the air.
I guess if one lives here long enough, one will end up with a car like that sooner or later ... :-)
Fortunately that sort of thing only happens in limited areas and for a limited time. It would be heck having that kind of stuff happen all the time with every thunderstorm ... :-)
I have a pic from a guy in Ok of a piece of hail that is 5 inches round! From the tornadoes that went through there a few days ago.
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