Severe thunderstorms and high winds killed at least five people, including an infant, in Oklahoma and Iowa over the weekend and sent a series of tornadoes through the Great Plains, authorities said.
More than 4 million people were placed under tornado watches in parts of five states – Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas – as thunderstorms moved east on Sunday. This means tornadoes are possible over the next few hours. There was also a threat of wind damage and large hail, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Tornadoes struck parts of Iowa on Friday and Oklahoma on Saturday. The cities of Sulfur, Holdenville and Ardmore in Oklahoma were particularly hard hit, according to the National Weather Service.
Pottawattamie County spokesman Craig Carlson said by phone Sunday that a man in Minden, Iowa, died from injuries sustained in last Saturday’s storm.
Oklahoma Emergency Management Agency public information director Kelly Kane said Sunday that the state medical examiner confirmed two storm-related deaths in Holdenville and one on Interstate 34 near Marietta.
At a news conference Sunday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced that a fourth person has died in Sulfur. At least 100 people were injured statewide, the health department said. Shelters and emergency kitchens were opened to house and feed evacuees as local officials coordinated search and rescue efforts.
Hughes County Emergency Medical Services said Sunday that those who died in Holdenville included a man and a girl.
At least 16 homes were destroyed in Oklahoma, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a Sunday morning briefing.
On Sunday, Stitt declared a state of emergency for 12 counties and patrolled Sulfur.
that explanation The scene there was “just devastating,” he said, adding that it appeared as if every downtown business had been destroyed.
He said initial reports indicated a powerful tornado “was ripping through the city here, and I’ve never seen this much damage in all my years as governor.”
Videos and photos from TV station KOCO News showed businesses in downtown Sulfur damaged or leveled and cars pummeled by flying debris.
Julie Jack, 64, who runs a women’s clothing boutique in Sulfur, said Sunday her business was “completely destroyed and all its contents were gone.”
Aside from the new hotel, “I would say every building downtown is a loss,” she said.
He added, “It feels like a bomb exploded.”
The severe weather came a day after tornadoes ripped through parts of Nebraska and Iowa, destroying dozens of homes.
In Iowa, 270 homes and several structures were damaged or destroyed in Pottawattamie County and about 25 homes were damaged or destroyed in Shelby County, according to FEMA.
About 30 tornadoes were reported across the region between Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning, some of them Saturday night in Kansas, Missouri and Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
Ryan Jewell, a forecaster with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, said Saturday’s situation was complicated by so many storms.
“They start interacting and there are multiple potentials,” he said.
Tornadoes tore through several parts of Nebraska and Iowa on Friday, and in addition to the deaths, several people were injured as winds pounded the region, officials said.
At a Saturday news conference in Douglas County, Nevada, where more than 150 homes were damaged, the National Weather Service’s Chris Franks described widespread damage caused by winds of up to 165 mph.
“This is a powerful tornado, a rare tornado,” he said, describing the system that started in the Lincoln area and another tornado that formed at Eppley Airfield in Omaha.
In Minden, Iowa, nearly 50 homes were completely destroyed, local officials said in a news release Sunday.
The National Weather Service said it received more than 100 tornado reports Friday from at least five states in the Great Plains.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said he had visited several areas with heavy damage. He called the experience “very sobering.”
Elder Phil Enke of Harvest Alliance Church in Minden said Friday’s storm destroyed his place of worship. Mr. Enke, 65, spent Saturday afternoon walking over splintered trees and debris, looking for any documents and photos he could salvage.
“We were trying to get something that was irreplaceable,” Mr. Enke said.
“It’s cumbersome and confusing, but you just have to pick up the pieces and move forward,” he added.
johnny diaz and Livia Albek-Lipka contributed to the report.
