Tornadoes Confirmed in Oklahoma, Arkansas

The National Weather Service has confirmed at least three tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma in the night on April 22 as a line of fierce storms passed through the state, and although power was knocked out to about 1,700 people, no injuries were reported and damage appeared to be minimal.

“It has been a day when we’ve had a lot of tornado reports, but not a day when we’ve seen a lot of damage,” said Mike Teague, a forecaster in the agency’s Tulsa office.

One tornado touched down near the town of Kansas in southern Delaware County, according to the weather service. County emergency management director Robert Real reported no damage and said it appeared that the tornado didn’t stay on the ground long.

The storm then moved into Arkansas and touched down briefly near Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport near Highfill, causing some damage, Teague said.

Another tornado was confirmed near Mason in Okfuskee County, but county emergency management director Bill Elliott said he received no reports of damage.

At least one tornado touched down between Byars and Stratford in south-central Oklahoma. Garvin County emergency management director Bud Ramming said a barn and mobile home sustained damage about five miles northwest of Stratford, but he didn’t know if that damage was the result of a tornado or straight-line winds.

Power lines were down in the area, Ramming said. As of 9:30 p.m., Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. reported about 1,700 customers were without power in Pauls Valley, Rosedale and Wayne.

State Emergency Management Department spokeswoman Michelann Ooten said she’d received no damage reports from local emergency management officials.

The storm brought hail and heavy rain to a state parched by a drought in recent months.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm Oklahoma Arkansas