Oklahoma was also hit by a severe weather system late Sunday. It brought heavy rains, lightning, wind, and thunder to areas of Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. Stormy weather is forecast for parts of the central U.S. later in the week.
According to Chuck Hodges (senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Tulsa), severe weather is not uncommon in the Southern Plains during October. He said that Sunday’s storm was more of a spring-like setup.
He said, “We had an unusually high level of moisture and a very strong weather system that prevailed.”
Oklahoma received tornado warnings and damage reports starting Sunday afternoon. Survey crews from the weather service will be out Monday to assess how many tornadoes were inflicted, Hodges stated.
Coweta, a Tulsa suburb, was struck by a tornado late Sunday night. It caused significant damage to homes, a high school and a gas station. Classes at Coweta Public School were cancelled Monday.
Anadarko was 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Oklahoma City, and also had reports of building damage.
An earlier hailstorm of the size of a baseball smashed windows and damaged cars in Norman, Oklahoma City, approximately 20 miles (32 km) south.
The weather service reported that survey crews from Missouri were heading out to rural areas of Missouri to see if there was any damage caused by tornadoes.
Weather radar showed possible tornadoes in the vicinity of Neosho and Golden City at 1:30 a.m. on Monday. A weather service meteorologist in Springfield Doug Cramer said that there were vague reports of damage in Jasper and Newton counties but no injuries.
Lightning that seemed to have come from the same storms delayed a NFL game in Kansas City, Missouri for approximately an hour Sunday night.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, severe storms could be possible Monday in some parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. A second round of storms is forecast Tuesday in Kansas, Oklahoma.
