© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Updated: Tornado Emergency as Multiple Twisters Hit Near Okla. City; Death Toll Rises to 9

Updated: Tornado Emergency as Multiple Twisters Hit Near Okla. City; Death Toll Rises to 9

• At least 2 confirmed dead; woman, infant• Damage reported in Oklahoma, Arkansas• Warnings of potential "catstrophic disaster"• Mulitple violent tornadoes touch down near Okla. City• Unknown number of injuries reported• See the pictures that have come in so far• Tornado warnings in Missouri

Watch live coverage -- click here.

UPDATE 11:00 a.m. ET -- The medical examiner says the death toll has risen to nine, the Associated Press and NBC News report.

UPDATE 9:00 a.m. ET -- via AP:

Emergency officials were preparing to survey tornado damage Saturday morning following the second major fatal storm to strike the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in several days.

The storm toppled cars and left commuters trapped on an interstate highway as it bore down during Friday's evening rush. Law enforcement officers and Red Cross damage assessment workers planned to head after dawn to areas in the city and its suburbs hit by what the National Weather Service reported were "several" tornadoes that rolled in from the prairie.

UPDATE 12:25 a.m. ET -- Five people have been killed in the storm system that tore through the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, according to the medical examiner's office. The system spawned a handful of tornadoes and sent tens of thousands scrambling for shelter, CNN reports.

A mother and baby were reportedly killed near Union City. Another person died at El Reno, the first city struck by the storm, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner. Circumstances involving the other two deaths weren't immediately known.

About 50 people were hurt, five critically, hospital officials said.

A tornado forms near Banner Road and Praire Circle in El Reno, Okla. on Friday, May 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

UPDATE 12:10 p.m. ET -- Tornado warnings were lifted in the region late Friday night, the Associated Press reports.

UPDATE 12:00 a.m. ET -- Seriously incredible storm chaser video reportedly taken in Union City, Okla. WATCH.

UPDATE 11:55 p.m. ET -- The Weather Channel Tornado Hunt team reports there are several people at the hospital in Chickasha, Okla. Some were getting treatment for cuts/broken ribs, but all are OK.

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/JesseJHamilton/status/340669236483588096"]

UPDATE 10:55 p.m. ET -- Via AP:

At least three tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma, including one in Tulsa, and two more hit Arkansas on Thursday as a powerful storm system moved through the middle of the country. At least nine people were injured.

The National Weather Service confirmed at least one tornado touched down Thursday night in the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow. Because it was dark out, it was difficult to determine the extent of the damage, said meteorologist Pete Snyder with the weather service's Tulsa office. However, the tornado did not appear to be a top-of-the-scale twister like the deadly one in suburban Oklahoma City last week.

UPDATE 10:38 p.m. ET -- KFOR-TV reports 75,000 people are currently without power in the Oklahoma City area. Officials are urging people to stay off the roads.

UPDATE 10:00 p.m. ET -- Via AP:

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph said troopers found the bodies of a woman and an infant near their vehicle. Randolph said it's not known if the woman was driving into the storm when it hit around 7 p.m. Friday.

Emergency officials reported numerous injuries were reported in the area along I-40, and Randolph said there were toppled and wrecked cars littering the area. Troopers requested a number of ambulances at I-40 near Yukon, west of Oklahoma City.

UPDATE 9:32 p.m. ET -- Horrified Oklahoma residents flocked to a local On Q gas station in southwest Oklahoma City to ride out the severe weather, KFOR-TV reported Friday night. The parking lot of the establishment was packed with vehicles as people hunkered down in the bathroom and other parts of the store.

UPDATE 9:25 p.m. ET -- A tornado warning has been issued for St. Louis area. A tornado reportedly touched down near Bellflower, Mo.

UPDATE 9:17 p.m. ET --  "Tornado threat is DECREASING! May see brief weak tornadoes along leading edge of storms pushing southeast," the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla., tweeted on Friday night.

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/NWSNorman/status/340637674702512129"]

UPDATE 8:57 p.m. ET -- KFOR-TV reports there is a tornado on the ground near Moore, Okla., the same city where a massive EF5 tornado killed 24 people last week. One meteorologist warned of a potential "catastrophic disaster" if the tornado continues on its path towards the northeast side of Moore.

UPDATE 8:30 p.m. ET -- Fox News reports "multiple tornadoes" have touched down outside of Oklahoma City. Injuries have been reported but no further information was available.

EL RENO, Okla. (TheBlaze/AP) -- A storm dropped a tornado in Oklahoma City's western suburbs, then barreled toward the state's largest city as cameras broadcast the approach on television.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado emergency for the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

Damage was reported Friday south of Interstate 40 near El Reno after the twister swept through a rural area. The Canadian County Sheriff's Office said it did not have any reports of injuries.

Funnels of various sizes touched the ground south of El Reno, 25 miles west of Oklahoma City. At other times funnel clouds remained aloft. Cameras showed debris in the air.

State police conducted rolling roadblocks to prevent motorists from driving into the storm as it approached Oklahoma City, which has a million people in the metro area.

A storm last week killed 24 at Moore, on Oklahoma City's south side.

Bad weather was also expected in parts of southeastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri. Tornado warnings were posted for remote areas of far southeastern Kansas and in the prairie well west of Oklahoma City, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Flooding will be a concern in the mid-Mississippi River Valley through the weekend.

Flash flooding and tornadoes killed three people in Arkansas late Thursday and Friday. Three others were missing in floods that followed 6 inches of rain in the rugged Ouachita Mountains near Y City, 125 miles west of Little Rock.

The Fourche La Fave River rose 24 feet overnight, temporarily swamping the U.S. 71 bridge in Scott County.

This story will be updated.

Screengrabs via The Daily Mail

Want to leave a tip?

We answer to you. Help keep our content free of advertisers and big tech censorship by leaving a tip today.
Want to join the conversation?
Already a subscriber?