'That's it, the house is gone.' Residents cleaning up tornado damage in Oklahoma cities along I-40
Oklahomans saw another round of severe weather Sunday night, including large hail and tornadoes that damaged homes, flipped over vehicles and cut through trees in cities and towns along Interstate 40.
The National Weather Service on Monday was investigating damage and confirming the number of tornadoes.
“Looks like we have five confirmed so far,” Matthew Day, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said. “We are still investigating one more, possibly. We’ve got surveyors out there today looking at the damage.”
In Oklahoma City, homeowner Ray Gatto, 61, saw his home destroyed and several vehicles damaged by a possible tornado near Cimarron Road and NW 10.
Gatto said he was sitting on a lawn chair Sunday and hoping the storm would turn south.
Moments later he and his wife, Brenda, took shelter as the storm tore through his property, leaving power poles on the ground and debris thrown into chopped off trees.
“I saw insulation and thought, ‘That’s it, the house is gone,” Gatto said.
Austin Breedlove, a neighbor whose home was not damaged as much as the Gattos’ house, said he took shelter about a minute before the storm hit.
“I was just scared for the house,” he said.
About two miles west near Banner Road and SW 15, the storm damaged garages and fences, cut open at least one roof and pushed a meat smoker across the street.
More: Where were tornadoes in Oklahoma last night? See where storm damage has been reported
One woman, who did not want to be named for this story, said she rode out the storm in her house.
Standing in her driveway, she said only:
“I don’t wanna do that again.”
Where did tornadoes hit Oklahoma on Sunday?
Western Oklahoma storms formed in the afternoon and produced a tornado near Custer City, prompting the National Weather Service in Norman to issue a tornado emergency just before 8 p.m.
The National Weather Service reported EF2 tornado damage in the area.
In Custer County, 10 to 15 homes were damaged between Custer City and Hydro. Three homes were damaged in Butler and two people were injured.
By midday Monday, the city of Oklahoma City reported several areas of damage from storms and a tornado that tore through the city Sunday night.
At the Clarence E. Page Airport, there was damage to the fence line and two small structures were damaged. There were multiple power lines down across the city and multiple flooded intersections.
No injuries have been reported.
The National Weather Service reported Monday afternoon that survey crews found at least EF2 tornado damage southwest of Yukon.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management received reports of storm damage in Blaine County, including damage to a nursing home and mobile home in Hydro and two barns were damaged in Geary. At least two people were injured.
In Canadian County, up to 20 structures received at least some damage, but no injuries have been reported.
There was damage to a barn northwest of Alva and downed power lines in Woods County.
Power outages in Oklahoma
As of Monday morning, about 2,000 OG&E customers were without power, mostly in central and south Oklahoma City.
Nearly 4,000 Public Service Company of Oklahoma customers were without power Monday morning, mostly in Tulsa.
Storm trackers in accident
News9 storm trackers Val and Amy Castor were in a roll-over accident during Sunday night's storms.
The storm-tracking duo were driving on Interstate 40 just east of the Kilpatrick Turnpike when their vehicle hydroplaned and flipped, according to a livestream available to watch on their Facebook page.
More: News9 Storm trackers Val and Amy Castor okay after hydroplaning and flipping vehicle
Val's brother, Von Castor, a storm tracker for News on 6 in Tulsa, posted on Facebook that "Val and Amy are OK. Praise the Lord!" after the incident.
The roll-over happened at 10 p.m. while the Castor's live feed was being shown in the corner of the screen for viewers watching News9's storm coverage Sunday night.
Severe weather forecasted in central Oklahoma Tuesday
Severe weather is forecast for central Oklahoma Tuesday, along with parts of western Oklahoma.
Oklahoma, Canadian and Cleveland counties are at a slight risk Tuesday along with other counties in central Oklahoma, according to NWS.
Parts of western Oklahoma and south-central Oklahoma are at marginal risk.
On Tuesday, the tornado potential is very low with a maximum windspeed of 60 to 80 mph, and up to baseball-sized hail, the weather service predicts.
More: Oklahoma weather: Severe weather forecast through Thursday
Large hail, damaging winds, very low tornado risk in Oklahoma Wednesday
On Wednesday, most of the Oklahoma City metro is at a marginal risk for severe weather along with counties across the state from Stillwater in the northeast region to Altus in the southwest, according to the National Weather Service.
The south-central region of the state, from south Cleveland County to Durant, is at a slight risk that night.
The main hazards Wednesday night include large hail, damaging winds and a very low tornado risk.
Severe weather potential in Oklahoma Thursday
Central Oklahoma, parts of western Oklahoma and the south-central region of the state are at a slight risk for severe weather Thursday.
According to the NWS, severe thunderstorms are possible from the early afternoon Thursday through the evening.
Flash flood threat in Oklahoma Wednesday through Friday
Central Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City metro, is at a marginal risk for flash floods from early Wednesday morning to early Friday morning, according to the NWS.
The south-central region of the state down to Durant is at a slight risk during that time frame.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma severe weather, tornadoes leaves homes damaged, cars flipped
