Storms bring tornadoes, strong winds into central Oklahoma
Feb. 26—Updated 10:30
While strong winds are still possible throughout the night and early morning, Stillwater and the surrounding area have been cleared of the severe storm threat.
Power providers have reported tens of thousands of Oklahomans without electricity after tornadoes and other storms with gale winds blew through the state.
Update 9:30 p.m.
Multiple tornado warnings are being issued at the same time across the state including the Oklahoma City metro, Enid and Norman.
Update 9:10 p.m.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm for areas just west and south of Payne County, including Langston. Threats include strong wind (up to 60 MPH) and hail.
From earlier:
A line of severe storms with potentially damaging winds is moving east across Oklahoma.
OSU Public Safety just sent an alert reporting that the storm is expected to arrive in Stillwater between 9 and 11 p.m.
"Stay indoors and away from windows. Do not try to drive to another location," the post reads. "Even once the storm passes, high winds may follow."
The National Weather Service earlier in the day predicted a "derecho" for much of the state.
The storms associated with this system are capable of producing very strong straight line winds, with gusts possibly over 100 mph according to the National Weather Service.
"A derecho is forecast with widespread damaging winds and embedded swaths of significant severe gusts from 80-110 mph,centered on parts of Oklahoma this evening into tonight, " the bulletin reads."Embedded tornadoes are anticipated as well, with the greatest potential for strong (EF2-EF3) tornadoes across southwest Oklahoma this evening."
Winds that strong could potentially lead to downed power lines and outages. It's also a driving risk for high-profiled automobiles.
Stillwater Emergency Management will be posting local updates on its Facebook Page.
A tornado watch was issued for much of western Oklahoma around 4 p.m. Tornado warnings were issued as storms began to develop in southwestern Oklahoma after 6 p.m. Hail has also been reported with the storms.
