life BUMP!
According to the weather radar, that system is currently screaming in on Texarkana. Anyone in Texarkana needs to be looking for shelter soon.
5 fatalities in Picher, OK.
At least 5 dead as tornadoes strike eastern Oklahoma By Michael Kimball and Sheila Stogsdill Staff Writers A tornado that tore through Picher has left at least five dead, according to preliminary reports given to the state medical examiner’s office.
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View More Top Ten Categories... Kevin Rowland, chief investigator for the medical examiner, said none of his staff are on the scene yet, but the Oklahoma Highway Patrol confirmed five dead.
The south end of the city has been completely destroyed. At least a dozen ambulances have been seen leaving the area, and authorities have shut off access to the town.
Prayers for all affected.....hate the wicked weather in all it’s forms...
Prayers lifted..
We spent 20 minutes in basement here in Saginaw, MO. We had hail and lots of water, with some flooding, but escaped the worst. There are at least 3 fatalities a few miles southwest of us.
Prayers you are OK..Check in if you can.
Reporting now 14 deaths in Picher and 6 confirmed deaths in Newton County MO.
Previously on news requesting anyone with a pickup to please report to Picher to take “walking injured” to hospital.
Now requesting no one to enter area. Emergency vehicles are unable to manipulate due to “sight seers”.
Some friends of ours haved moved to Owasso, just north of Tulsa. They left California Thursday and are almost there. For me, these tornadoes are more personal now. Hope there are no more tonight. I’ll take an earthquake any day over a tornado.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080511/ap_on_re_us/severe_weather
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Thunderstorms and tornadoes tore across the nation’s heartland Saturday evening, killing at least 11 people, mangling buildings and trapping people in rubble in areas still reeling from other recent bouts with severe weather.
A twister killed at least six people in the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher, then skipped over the Missouri state line to wreak further death and destruction, authorities said.
The death toll in Oklahoma could climb, said state Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten. The Picher tornado caused major damage in a 20-block area, she said.
“I know they are going through the rubble, trying to find people missing,” she said. “There are numerous injuries.”
At least five people died in southwestern Missouri after the storms plowed through, the National Weather Service said. Three people died after the Picher tornado hit near Seneca, about 15 miles away in Newton County, said meteorologist Bill Davis.
Other tornadoes were reported near McAlester and Haywood in Pittsburg County and in rural Pushmataha County, both in southeastern Oklahoma.
Television footage showed some destroyed outbuildings and damaged homes west of McAlester and near Haywood. At a glass plant southwest of McAlester, the storm apparently picked up a trailer and slammed it down on garbage bins.
“These are rural areas that we are in,” Pittsburg County Undersheriff Richard Sexton told KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City. “These are good people coming together at this time.”
In storm-weary Arkansas, a tornado collapsed a home and a business, and there were reports of a few people trapped in buildings, said Weather Service meteorologist John Robinson.
Central Park Elementary School in the northwest Arkansas city of Bentonville had roof and window damage, and damage was also reported at Pine Creek Center School.
The storms remained active into the evening, with watches and warnings abundant across a wide swath of the Plains and South.
~snip~
Just a brief observation. Seems the worst has passed on from Southwest Missoui and Northwest Arkansas. At the moment we having strong winds and some rain that is due to cold front coming in.
Per 10 o’clock local news cast:
5 dead in the Ozarks mainly from Newtonia, MO area. Seneca hit hard, highways 71 and 60 shut down for a time. Fairview and Granby also affected. “Sight seers” creating problems for emergency personnel.
One person killed in Purdy, MO. Curfew in place.
6 dead in Pitcher, Oklahoma, National Guard activated. Several homes in McAlaster, OK destroyed by a tornado.
Reports of debris in Springfield Missouri from Oklahoma storms.
A home in Gainsville MO burned to the ground due to lightening strike earlier in the day from the first round of storms. Home in Eldridge MO hit by lightening, no fire but caused a small propane leak.
Barack Obama is waiting to say another 10,000 people died because of tornadoes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc_WKBymCEY
I found out about this this morning as I was going to my place of duty here in Baghdad. Being from Picher, and hearing this news nearly killed me. Thankfully, my family is OK, though according to my Dad, some friends are missing.
He says it wiped out the entire southern half of Picher.