83 reports of tornadoes across five states: 4 injured, hundreds of homes damaged
Photographs show trail of destruction in downtown Sulphur, Oklahoma, amid multi-day tornado outbreak across several states.
The multi-day tornado outbreak continues Saturday, with powerful storms expected from Texas to the Great Lakes.
There is a tornado watch in effect for parts of six states, from Texas to Iowa into the late evening. This watch will likely expand east slightly as the day wears on.
A moderate risk — level 4 out of 5 — is in the outlook for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri Saturday, with storms expected to flare up again in the afternoon and evening across a huge area of the country.
There is a chance for strong long-track tornadoes as well as very large hail up to 3 inches in diameter and thunderstorm winds up to 80 mph.
In Iowa, four people were injured Friday and approximately 120 structures were damaged after severe weather hit Pottawattamie County, officials in that county said.
The city of Minden was the hardest hit area in Friday’s storms, according to the county. Gas and power have been disrupted, and a 10 p.m. curfew has been issued until further notice.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, Pottawattamie County, and the City of Minden have all declared a state of emergency.
Severe damage was also reported across eastern Nebraska, including Douglas County, where hundreds of homes were damaged in the Omaha area Friday.
Preliminary information suggests that two “strong, rare tornadoes” touched down in Douglas County, Chris Franks with the National Weather Service said during a press briefing on Saturday.
The National Weather Service found evidence of EF-2 and EF-3 tornado damage there following Friday’s storms, Franks said.
Additional tornadoes touched down in the Springer area north of Ardmore, Pontotoc County, Mill Creek, and Marietta.
Love County Emergency Management reports damages in and around Marietta including damage to the Marietta Hospital.
Hospital patients took shelter during the storms and no injuries in the hospital are reported.
I-35 north is closed at the Texas State Line due to overturned vehicles and powerlines across the highway. The Chickasaw Nation is providing incident support in Marietta.
Over 16,000 customers in Carter County, 4,000 in Love County, and 4,600 in Murray County were without power as of 1 a.m., according to poweroutage.us.
