(NEWSnet) — A tornado outbreak continued Saturday in the Plains, with some communities in Oklahoma facing repeated tornado warnings while rain-wrapped funnel clouds approached.

This is a continuation of severe weather storm system that began Friday; and additional severe weather is possible Sunday.

Tornado watches were issued Saturday or overnight into Sunday morning for parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. This comes as the National Weather Service is still compiling storm data from Friday’s blast - over 100 tornado reports from Friday are under investigation.

The twist that concerned forecasters and storm chasers Saturday in Oklahoma is the fact that the storms continued into the night, and in some cases were “wrapped in rain,” according to the National Weather Service. Therefore, they were much harder to see on the ground as compared to the Friday afternoon tornadoes.

With the rain came the threat of flash flooding.

The NWS office in Norman shared a video of its staff working in the office shortly after 7 p.m. local time Saturday, noting that by time they were three hours into “severe weather operations.” 

 

Saturday’s tornado watch for central Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City, included the phrase “Particularly Dangerous Situation.” The NWS also added that phrase to some of Saturday’s tornado warnings as the evening went on. A PDS is rarely issued, it is meant to indicate the severity of the storms under the watch or warning.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said it opened its state emergency operations center Saturday, collecting damage reports and coordinating resources that included the American Red Cross, Oklahoma Insurance Department and Oklahoma National Guard.

The Norman Music Festival, which normally brings thousands of people to the city, posted a notice on its website ahead of Saturday’s storm that all of its outdoor performances and events were canceled “under an abundance of caution.” Also in Norman, the University of Oklahoma ordered those on campus to seek shelter about 9:15 p.m. local time after a tornado warning was issued for the city.

The towns of Sulphur and Dickson were among those subjected to multiple tornado warnings Saturday. Injuries have been reported in Sulphur, the Oklahoma OEM office said; and the Murray County Sheriff's Office urged people urged people to stay away unless they were first responders.

Injuries also were reported at a truck stop in Carter County, Oklahoma Emergency Management said.

The NWS received reports of golf ball sized hail in Kay County.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation reported highway closings for parts of Interstate 35 because of storm damage.

And more than 11,000 state residents were without power late Friday night, particularly in Alfalfa, Carter, Cotton, Garvin, Kay, McClain, Murray and Stephens counties.

This year's tornado season got started early, and has been busy, with the NWS reporting it has issued 87 tornado watches so far in 2024.

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