NORMAN, Okla. — A line of severe thunderstorms spanning hundreds of miles swept across the Midwest Sunday evening, bringing destruction at the hands of rare February tornadoes and straight-line wind gusts that topped over 80-100 mph.
Tornado sirens wailed across the Oklahoma City area as multiple twisters were sighted while the storms raced through the area late Sunday evening.
There are several reports of damage to homes, trees and power lines coming in from nearby Norman, home to the University of Oklahoma and NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, where spotters had reported tornado sightings and Doppler Radar indicated debris lofted as high as 7,000 feet, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
TORNADOES HIT LARGE CITIES: THIS IS WHY
Radar indicated a second possible tornado strike just west of Oklahoma City near the town of Yukon, and other damage was reported near Shawnee. Overall, the National Weather Service received four reports of tornadoes as of late Sunday night. Storm survey teams will head out Monday to confirm if the damage was the result of a tornado.
WHERE ARE TORNADOES MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR IN FEBRUARY?
So far there are no reports of significant injuries, but damage assessments were still ongoing Sunday night. If a tornado were confirmed in Oklahoma, it would be the first in February in more than a decade, since an EF-0 twister hit the Sooner State on Feb. 27, 2011.
But it wasn’t just tornadoes slamming the region with damaging winds. The long-line of thunderstorms created blistering straight-line winds that exceeded hurricane strength in some cases.
The strongest gust of the night was in Memphis, Texas where a wind gauge clocked a 114-mph gust, according to the National Weather Service. The storm cell also brought golf-ball-sized that conspired with the intense gusts to shatter windows around town, spotters reported.
Other gusts have exceeded 70 mph in Amarillo and El Paso in Texas, and one person was injured in El Paso County’s Fort Bliss when they were blown off their feet, according to a National Weather Service storm report. Also in Fort Bliss, weather spotters reported that an exit off of Interstate 10 was closed due to leaning power poles.
El Paso reported a 71 mph gust – the 7th strongest gust recorded in the city with records going back into the late 19th century, the NWS said.
“A remarkable, perhaps historic storm system, is currently approaching our forecast area,” National Weather Service forecasters in Norman, Oklahoma wrote in their 5:30 pm CT forecast discussion.
In Liberal, Kansas a reported tornado destroyed a home and toppled trees and power lines Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, citing law enforcement reports.
Gusts have taken a toll on power lines across the area. PowerOutage.US reports that over 135,000 lost power across parts of Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico as of Sunday night.
Some thunderstorms have been clocked at moving 100 mph while bringing gusts of 90 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Overall the National Weather Service received 80 reports of damaging wind speeds, including 13 reporting gusts over 75 mph as of late Sunday night. There were a dozen large hail reports exceeding 1 inch in diameter.
After storms sweep through the Plains, they will make their way eastward into the Ohio Valley.
The severe storm threat on Monday covers an area spanning from Illinois through Indiana and western Ohio and far northern Kentucky.
Similarly to the weekend threat, damaging wind gusts will be the biggest concern, but isolated storms with hail and tornadoes cannot be ruled out.
The threat of severe weather will diminish on Tuesday as the storm system pushes off the Eastern Seaboard.