Posted on 05/13/2010 10:54:59 AM PDT by Star Traveler
TPS, Union cancel classes
By SHANNON MUCHMORE & MATT BARNARD World Staff Writers
Published: 5/13/2010 6:23 AM
Last Modified: 5/13/2010 12:44 PM
A small tornado did touch down in Sapulpa early Thursday, while strong thunderstorms moved through the Tulsa area, felling trees and damaging homes and businesses throughout the area and knocking out power to more than 40,000 customers.
Bart Haake, Tulsa National Weather Service meteorologist, said officials determined that EF2-level damage did occur northeast of Sapulpa. Storm damage survey for the area is ongoing, he said.
Other damage ranged from building facades sheared off near 61st Street and Lewis Avenue to roofs blown off and walls collapsed as far away as Mayes County and the Port of Catoosa.
Wind gusts were measured as high as 80 mph near Bristow and radar showed wind speeds approaching 100 mph in the Tulsa area, said Karen Hatfield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa.
Sirens blew across Tulsa at 4:56 a.m. They were activated as soon as officials heard that winds were expected to top 80 mph, said Mike McCool, of the Tulsa County Emergency Management office.
Tulsa
The worst-hit areas of the city are from 36th Street south to 101st Street and from Yale Avenue west to Riverside Avenue, said Darren Stefanek, of the city’s Public Works Department.
The city has received dozens of calls about trees down and a roof in the street near 51st Street and Lewis Avenue, he said. The facade of Southern Hills shopping center near 61st Street and Lewis Avenue was ripped off.
A number of homes in the area were damaged, officials said.
City crews were working to clear arterial streets of storm damage and will start clearing residential streets, said Paul Strizek, contracts manager. Streets still closed include: 61st Street near South Lewis Avenue, 81st Street near 33rd West Avenue and South Delaware Avenue near 115th and 121st streets.
But crews will not be working overtime to clear the streets of debris unless directed to by the mayor. This means it could take up to week to clear and pick up along arterial streets, Strizek said.
“We may end up with a situation where we simply clear the streets and cut up the branches and leave it in everybody’s front yard,” Strizek said.
In downtown, a nearly 25-foot section of scaffolding dropped from a work zone outside the BOK Tower downtown and landed on a Jeep that was parked below. No injuries were reported.
Tulsa police have been directing traffic at intersections where the traffic lights are not working, Sgt. Ron Kawano said. But the city is working to place signs at the intersections, he said.
“We are giving up the traffic control to the signs once they become available,” Kawano said.
Some locations where the lights are out include 61st Street from Peoria to Harvard Avenues and in the area of 46th Street and Memorial Drive as well as locations in east Tulsa. Many are in the southwest part of the city.
EMSA hasn’t responded to any injuries related to the crash. Crews are going to nursing homes without power to assist people dependent on oxygen tanks, spokesman Chris Stevens said.
EMSA transported two people from Maplewood Care Center, 6202 E. 61st St., which was without power, to local hospitals in fair condition.
“We treated six people, some of whom had COPD or other conditions that require oxygen,” said EMSA spokesman Chris Stevens.
“We’re doing everything we can to basically keep these people alive,” he said.
Artists who were in town for the city’s annual Mayfest celebration escaped mostly unscathed because organizers had urged them to keep their wares secure, Visual Arts Chair Debby Raskin said.
A few tents blew over, but they were empty because organizers warned the artists about the weather Wednesday night, Raskin said.
Tom LaMar, 68, said he was watching television when he heard the fast winds blow through the neighborhood.
LaMar, who lives in the 6200 block of Utica Avenue, said he woke his wife and they went into their newly-installed safe room.
LaMar called these events "scary" and said he's still without electricity.
A few houses, away, a large tree fell on top of Robert Steely's jeep, damaging the hood.
"I didn't even know what happened," said Steely, 26.
He said he was also awake watching television when the power went off and that swift winds came through the front yard, tearing down parts of tree trunks.
Tulsa area schools
The weather led officials from Tulsa Public Schools and Union Public Schools to cancel classes for the day because of widespread power outages, officials said.
Eighteen schools in the Tulsa district are without power. Officials are still assessing all the damage, but the stadium lights at Memorial High School did blow over into the street, spokeswoman Tami Marler said.
McClure Elementary School, near 61st Street and Peoria Avenue, had a tree fall onto an A/C unit, causing damage to the roof and unit, she said.
Two schools in the Union district have no power, and one was difficult to get to because of downed trees in the neighborhood. Some bus drivers also had trouble getting in because of debris in the neighborhoods, spokeswoman Gretchen Haas-Bethel said.
Meanwhile, outside the Discovery School of Tulsa, dozens of parents and administrators walked among scraps of the building’s roof that were strewn across the playground.
Principal Fevzi Simsek said the charter school, near 48th Street and 72nd East Avenue, will be closed until at least Monday while administrators review damage reports and decide if the building can be reopened.
It’s too early to say if students will be able to complete the few remaining days of the school year, Simsek said.
Large chunks of foam insulation and roofing material were blown nearly 100 yards away from the building and some classrooms were damaged by water. Simsek said the building remains structurally intact and he computers and other electronics are salvageable.
The privately funded school is in its first year of classes and supporters had been working hard to revamp the facility. After putting in so much effort, the storm damage became even harder to bear, parent Missy Smith said.
“We just got this playground put together, and they just started putting on fencing,” she said. “It stinks.”
The Schusterman Clinic at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa is open and seeing patients, because it has a generator.
The University of Oklahoma-Tulsa is open and finals will go ahead as scheduled, even though the university does not have power, spokeswoman Tracy Kennedy said.
Tulsa area
Business owners and residents in Sapulpa said they knew a tornado had touched down there when they saw the damage.
The storm did extensive at Amron Enterprises on Frankoma Road near New Sapulpa Road.
Across the street, at the D.E. Holman Food Distributors, a large cinderblock building that housed part of its warehouse was toppled and a box truck was overturned. Behind the Holman company, two homes on Division Street suffered extensive roof damage and shattered windows.
Residents say a shredded tree behind the shop stood next one that wasn’t damaged - a sure sign, they say, of a tornado. A crossing grate along the railroad track paralleling Frankoma Road was destroyed and crews were repairing it.
Tim Holman, a spokesman for the Holman company, said weather stormchasers were at his business earlier today and they believed an EF-2 tornado had gone through the area.
Mayes County reported wind damage and power outages countywide, said John Janzen, director of Mayes County Emergency Management.
A couple of miles south of Adair, along U.S. 69, the roof was lifted off an ATV repair home/business, Janzen said. The family, asleep at the time, was uninjured, he said.
In Coweta, at least five homes and businesses sustained roof damage, including a church, said Tom Tillotson, Coweta’s director of emergency management. Much of the power in the town has been restored, he said.
A few business near Oklahoma 66 and Frankoma Road in Sapulpa received significant structural damage, and an apartment complex on the west side of town received room damage, Sapulpa Police Cpt. Joe Sellers said.
The roads are mostly clear, but many trees limbs are down throughout the city.
In Bixby, the storm knocked out power at North Elementary and the nearby 4th, 5th and 6th grade center, forcing teachers to use temporary lights in some rooms, said Bill Coyle, assistant superintendent.
Coyle said there was no damage to school buildings and that teachers and students were conducting class while PSO workers are attempting to restore power.
“Many of the rooms have windows so there is some light but we are running on backup generators,” Coyle said. “The darkest area is the cafeteria because it has no windows.”
Broken Arrow schools were open, but police have shut down Garnett Road between 91st Street and 101st Street because of downed power lines, said Broken Arrow spokeswoman Stephanie Higgins.
And, nearby, a large tree had been uprooted and partially blocked Garnett Road. Crews were using equipment to clear the road. Several homes in the area reportedly sustained damage.
Heavy winds destroyed a steel-enforced wall at factory at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and damaged more buildings at the industrial park.
Several people were working inside the Steel & Pipe Supply building when severe winds blew in the wall, but no one was injured, said David Yarbrough, deputy manager of operations for the port.
“There’s a semi-trailer turned upside down and a power pole snapped in two,” Yarbrough said. “Whatever it was, it was bad.”
Another smaller building owned by Steel & Pipe Supply was damaged, sustaining similar wind damage as the main building.
Several smaller “shed-like” buildings at the Port were also destroyed.
Much of the Tulsa Port of Catoosa lost power for several hours this morning, but electricity was restored around 9:30 a.m.
Weather information
The Tulsa metro area now has 25,000 customers without power, said AEP-PSO spokesman Stan Whiteford.
This is down from 40,000 earlier today, he said.
The storm knocked down about 50 power line poles in Tulsa, with about 10 of those near the intersection of 101st Street and Garnett Road, AEP-PSO spokesman Stan Whiteford said.
"That's the area that we had the single-most impact on our grid," Whiteford said.
Power should be restored to 80 percent to 90 percent of the affected customers by midnight Thursday, but a few may have to wait until 6 p.m. Friday, he said.
Statewide crews and contractors are making their way to Tulsa to help local AEP-PSO employees get the power back up, he said.
The storm passed quickly through the metro area, moving at about 60 mph. It was well into Arkansas before 8 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Most of the damaged power lines are in southeast and southwest Tulsa, AEP-PSO spokeswoman Andrea Chancellor said.
“It’s a pretty dangerous situation out there and if anyone encounters a line that’s down they need to assume it’s hot and energized,” Chancellor said. No tornadoes were reported in Tulsa.
Forecasters said the chance of thunderstorms will continue today.
Assistance
The Tulsa Red Cross will be deploying damage assessment teams to assist victims of this morning’s storms.
People needing assistance from the Red Cross with shelter, or those who have damage to their homes, are encouraged to call 831-1109 so that a team can be directed to their area.
Both the Oklahoma Blood Institute and the Tulsa Area Chapter of the American Red Cross are open to donors who wish to give blood.
OBI, located at 4601 E. 81st St., lost power to its center, but a backup generator is ensuring blood products are kept at the right temperature, said spokeswoman Sara Wilson.
She said the agency has unplugged all non-essential items in support of the generator. Chris Carrier, OBI Donor Room Supervisor, said they are only collecting whole blood donations while the power is out. OBI won’t be able to collected red cells, platelets and other blood parts since those donations are collected with equipment powered by electricity, he said.
And in Tulsa, the city is encouraging residents to take limbs to the greenwaste site at 10401 E. 56th St. North, which is free for Tulsans.
More without power
Three Tulsa City-County libraries are without power. They are: Herman and Kate Kaiser, 5202 South Hudson Ave.; South Broken Arrow, 3600 S. Chestnut; and Martin Regional, 2601 S. Garnett Road. No damage has been reported, according to library spokesman John Fancher.
How is the area west of St Francis Hospital and the Warren Clinic?
How is the area west of St Francis Hospital and the Warren Clinic?
I didn't go that far West to look it over... I went from the Arkansas River, where the tornado crossed the river, and then out East, to Southern Hill Country Club at S. Lewis.
The family got tired of driving around after a while ... :-) ... we were winding in and out and around on side streets ...
If I get back out and go there, I'll post it here.
Posted: May 13, 2010 1:57 PM
Updated: May 13, 2010 2:54 PM
TULSA, OK -- Thunderstorms which produced winds of over 80 MPH in Creek and Tulsa counties along with a tornado in west Tulsa, knocked out power for thousands of customers Thursday morning.
Both PSO and OG&E scrambled utility crews Thursday to fix downed lines and broken power poles across the region.
Public Service Company of Oklahoma reported nearly 40,000 customers without power during the morning hours and by noon that number had been reduced to 28,000.
PSO says 80 percent of those customers should have power restored by Thursday evening with the rest getting their power back by late Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported power outages in their service area which includes Bristow, Sapulpa, Glenpool, Bristow and Bixby of about 2,000 Thursday morning.
By noon, OG&E said the outage number was fewer than 1,700.
Posted: May 13, 2010 6:32 AM
Updated: May 13, 2010 3:27 PM
12:29 p.m. SAPULPA, OK The National Weather Service has determined that the Sapulpa tornado measured as an EF-2 on the Fujita Scale.
11:58 a.m. TULSA, OK -- PSO is reporting about 28,000 customers across the Tulsa area are currently without power. That number is down from a peak of 40,000 Thursday morning.
OG&E power outage numbers:
Bixby ----- 532 Bristow --- 130 Glenpool -- 526 Sapulpa --- 751
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10:21 a.m. TULSA, OK -- Preliminary reports from The National Weather Service indicate that it was a tornado that caused damage in southwest Tulsa Thursday morning.
The area is 78th Street South and 23rd West Avenue.
News On 6 Chief of Meteorology Travis Meyer flew over the storm damage in SKYNEWS 6 Thursday morning and agreed that the damage indicates that there was rotation in the storm. Weather Service crews are out making assessments will have more information Thursday afternoon.
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10:01 a.m. TULSA, OK -- The city of Tulsa says about 100 City of Tulsa Public Works employees reported to work early Thursday to begin removing trees and other debris from arterial streets following early-morning wind storms that caused damage in a large area of the city.
Damage spread from west Tulsa to as far east as 129th, and from downtown to as far south as 121st St. The heaviest damage appeared to be between South Yale and Riverside Drive in the 51st and 61st Streets area.
In the 61st and Lewis area traffic were completely blocked by downed trees and parts of a commercial building roof that had blown into the street.
City crews are responding first to clear arterial streets of debris blocking traffic. After all arterials are cleared the crews will remove debris from streets in residential areas.
Officials say City of Tulsa crews will not be removing or hauling debris from private properties.
Power outages also affected thousands of area residents and traffic signals in some parts of town were also affected. City crews placed four-way stop signs at several intersections where signals were not functioning and crews will be working Thursday to return signals to normal operation as power is restored.
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9:39 a.m. TULSA, OK -- EMSA is reporting it has not had any reports of injuries from Thursday morning's storms.
EMSA officials say they have been at the Maplewood Care Center at 6202 East 61st Street for several hours. The center is without power and EMSA is there to provide oxygen to patients needing it.
EMSA says two patients have been transported to Tulsa hospitals for further care because of the power outage problems.
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9:31 a.m. TULSA, OK -- The Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross will be deploying damage assessment teams to assist victims of Thursday morning's storms.
People needing assistance from the Red Cross with sheltering, or those who have damage to their homes, are encouraged to call 831-1109 so that a team can be directed to their area.
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9:30 a.m. TULSA COUNTY -- Severe weather caused damage to several Tulsa County Parks. Most damage was a result of high winds and tree breakage, many of which were minimal.
LaFortune Park sustained the most damage with high levels of tree breakage and scattered debris.
The LaFortune Park Golf Course will be closed for at least one day.
The picnic area will be closed for at least two days as hanging tree limbs create a safety hazard for the public.
Southlakes Golf Course will be closed for the remainder of Thursday while crews clean up limbs and debris on the course, but the course will likely reopen Friday.
The public is urged to be safe in dealing with storm damage.
"We ask that our park patrons be patient while damage is assessed and handled. Our crews will handle the cleanup in a quick and efficient manner," said Tulsa County Spokesman Michael Willis.
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9:16 a.m. BROKEN ARROW, OK -- Broken Arrow city officials say right now it appears that their community did not experience quite the winds speeds that Tulsa did. Officials say most damage appears to be garden variety thunderstorm type with straight line winds.
Limbs and trash are strewn about many neighborhoods.
So far, the Broken Arrow Police Department has not received any information regarding injuries or significant structural damage to residences.
There are a few reports of entire trees that were blown over.
New Orleans St. (101st Street) from Olive Avenue (129th Street) to Garnett Road will be closed for about 48 hrs due to power related work
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TULSA, OK -- Tulsa residents were awakened with the sound of storm sirens as strong thunderstorms with straight line winds rolled across northeastern Oklahoma early Thursday morning causing considerable damage in Creek, Tulsa, Rogers and Wagoner counties.
The hardest hit areas are in northeast Sapulpa, south and west Tulsa, east side of Broken Arrow and Coweta.
Sapulpa Police say homes and businesses in northeast portions of Sapulpa are heavily damage.
In Tulsa, a shopping center at 61st and Lewis lost its roof. Southern Hills Golf Course was also badly hut.
Also there is considerable damage in the 41st and Mingo area and 31st and 129th East Avenue area. Another area of considerable damage is 81st near 33rd West Avenue.
The city of Tulsa says Public works crews are clearing debris from arterial streets in an area receiving the most damage from morning storms.
City officials say crews are working in an area of 121st to 36th Streets and Delaware to Riverside Drive where roof materials and trees are reported to be blocking arterials.
Officials say clearing arterials will be the first priority.
There have been homes and businesses damaged in Coweta and Haskell as well.
There is also a number of area schools closed because of power outages.
Posted: May 13, 2010 3:18 PM
Updated: May 13, 2010 3:46 PM
NEAR WYANDOTTE, OK -- Audrey Graham is ready to find a new place to live after riding out Thursday morning's storm in her unanchored trailer home.
Graham, 40, says she'd just let her dog out at about 6 a.m. when she heard a noise that sounded like a bus or a train approaching her home. She ran outside to find her dog, a yellow lab named Cowboy, when the storm hit.
She says her trailer sits on the highest point in Ottawa County, about three miles from Tiff City, Missouri.
The storm lifted the trailer off the ground and set it back down, but didn't do any damage. "This trailer kind of lifted up and the floor kind of flexed, but that was it," Graham said. "All I can say is that God was watching over me, because this thing's not tied down."
Her neighbors weren't so lucky.
Graham took photos of what's left of a neighbor's barn, and of another neighbor's car lifted into the air by the root ball of a downed tree.
She says the car is owned by an older woman who couldn't believe her eyes when she saw what had happened.
"She's just stunned. She can't believe it," said Graham.
Graham said the neighbor doesn't know where to begin to try to get her car down. The incident broke the back window of the car, but apparently didn't do any other damage to it.
Cowboy, he's a yellow lab. About an hour later he was ok, trapped under a smashed tree.
She can't understand why her trailer was spared serious damage when her neighbors were not. She said it may be because she had her trees trimmed after spending 28 days without power in the last ice storm.
But Graham said she's ready to move to a home with a strong foundation. "I'm done with this trailer. I'm definitely going to check into a storm shelter."
Nick Madden inspects a friend's business in Sapulpa near Oklahoma 66 and Frankoma Road today. Photo by Stephen Pngry/Tulsa World
Reported by: Marla Carter
Last Update: 3:42 pm
Power outages didn't stop Sara Hobbie from having her morning coffee.
"We were very fortunate. We have a motor home. I was able to turn on the generator and make my coffee this morning," said Sara Hobbie, who lives near 33rd W. Ave. and W. 78th St.
She needed the pick-me-up after seeing what the storm did to her yard.
"I went out and started looking around with the flashlight. I started seeing more and more. The end of my barn is out, and my roof on my barn is messed up," said Hobbie.
Then the sun came out and the damage was more apparent.
"Then as daylight comes out, I see my neighbors house is destroyed, and the other neighbor's barn looked like it exploded. We were very fortunate," said Hobbie.
The southern portion of her neighbor's home sustained a lot damage. The roof was taken off along with bricks in the front of the house.
Crews spent Thursday morning putting a tarp over the home to protect it from rain and vandals.
Fortunately, the woman that lives there wasn't at the house when the storm hit.
Her neighbors stepped up to help out.
"I'm in the construction business. We just happened to be here with a bunch of the other neighbors. I've got access to the people that we need to secure the house immediately," said Kent Basnett, a neighbor and contractor.
People were also shoveling up debris just miles away in Sapulpa.
A manufacturing building that houses Amron Enterprises and American Alloy Steel was hit, along with another building across the street.
Brad Moody was the first employee to show up to work on Thursday.
His first thought, "Not again. We were hit by the one that hit Moore. The May 3rd tornado," said Moody.
He says the damage wasn't as bad this time around and employees of Amron Enterprises hope to have the building open again on Monday.
We just got our power back on from Monday’s tornadoes in central OK. Hope things calm down soon. Glad you are OK.
Glad to hear that you and yours are alright. It has been a monstrous week for my neighbors north of the TX/OK border. You all are in my prayers. Also going to donate to the American Red Cross. At least I will have done something to help.
I had an apartment at 71st and Riverside.
My brother went to high school in Sapulpa before moving to Kellyville.
I never heard of a Tornado Crossing the Arkansas.
Those Indians musta not knowd whuts they wuz tahling bout.
That’s horrible.
My prayers going out to those affected.
Kellyville is an...... interesting place.
I lived there for a bit.
There use to be bar between Sapulpa and Kellyville and Country Stars would stop in and play some music.
Great place, forget the name.
Prayers lifted.
I never heard of a Tornado Crossing the Arkansas.
It definitely did. I saw the trees down where it crossed. It was a swath as it crossed the river and took out more trees and fences and stuff as it crossed Riverside Drive.
The swath that it cut was maybe about 1 block wide, but it's kinda hard to tell at times. In some places it looked like it could be two blocks wide (through some of those neighborhoods) and other places maybe one block wide.
There were 80 MPH (at least) straight line winds, which is why Tulsa set off the sirens all over the city, but this particular damage and "swath" was not "straight-line winds" but tornadic, as you could tell the intense damage in a "swath" that wasn't there as you went away from the pathway on either side of it.
I would say that it was going (rought) ENE as it crossed, with it being maybe less than a block north of 71st on the West side of the river and about a block north of 71st, maybe 1.5 blocks north, and continuing in the Easterly direction.
It's been interesting to see the damage. Obviously it wasn't an intense enough tornado to blow apart most of the houses, but it could do a lot of other damage like blow out windows and blow apart smaller structures and other things that are very "wind-susceptible" ... like carports and/or fences and/or trees.
I could see fences knocked down in the westerly direction on one side of it, and then on the other side of the swath, I could see the fences knocked down in the easterly direction -- that indicating a "swirling action" by the winds.
There was one place where it must have been the home of a police officer and the Tulsa Police car was smashed (by their tree being blown over) and their other car in the driveway was literally smashed almost flat. A woman who was standing out there said that the damage happened first, without any warning -- and then a bit later the sirens went off. So apparentlly those sirens were a bit late for some people But, in any case, there wasn't enough time to react, apparently because the twister itself was moving along (its own ground speed) at about 65 MPH across South Tulsa.
How is the area west of St Francis Hospital and the Warren Clinic?
Okay, I just got back from checking out that area. People really are getting "on it" pretty fast and cleaning up the area. In many places, even as I went out earlier today and looked around, there were many who had already gathered their debris and tree limbs and trees and had already cut it up and stacked it all ... LOL ... boy some people work fast to clean it up.
But, let me tell you, there are all sorts of "cleanup businesses" and tree services all through those neighborhoods doing all sorts of cleanup right now. They're not wasting any time. In fact, in another day or two, except for major house damage and uprooted big trees, you might not be able to tell anymore that a tornado went through. People are cleaning up that fast.
In the area where I've been there are no houses blown apart but there are houses that are severely damaged by trees going onto them.
But, in regards to the Warren Clinic. I really did not even know where that was, but as I was making my way through the neighborhood area, I saw it (and it sorta surprised me, because I wasn't expecting it). And from the area of damage that I saw next to the Warren clinic, I would say that the twister passed about (maybe) two blocks south of the Warren Clinic.
As I got over to Yale, it looked like the twister has gotten closer to 51st and was probably one block to the South of 51st (and that would have been the north edge of the twister, as it could have been one to two blocks wide (at least the damage path). So, it went across La Fortune Golf Course and into the neighborhood to the East of it.
From the map that I'm looking at, it almost seems that the twister was following Joe Creek after it passed Lewis (can't say that for sure, because the damage was in the residence areas, and not in the canal). But, it seems to have almost started going straight East from a point halfway between Lewis and Harvard, and continuing Eastward as it went through La Fortune Golf Course and then into the neighborhood to the east of that.
I didn't go much further than about halfway between Yale and Sheridan. It was difficult trying to find the pathway, because (of course) the twister doesn't follow roads and it goes into between blocks a lot and thus, you have to do a whole lot of "winding around" in the neighborhoods to see where it went. But, you can definitely see it, without a doubt.
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