Thousands without power in Fort Smith and Arkansas River Valley Sunday after storms

More than 9,800 electric customers in Fort Smith remained without power Sunday morning after strong thunderstorms blew through the city late Saturday and early Sunday, according to reports.

There were 2,647 customers affected in Fort Smith Sunday evening.

As straight line winds reported to be up to 100 mph ripped eastward, a tornado hit near Prairie View east of Paris about 1:10 a.m. Sunday, said Tobi Miller, Logan County's emergency management director. Miller said a team from the National Weather Service will survey path of the tornado.

A metal outbuilding was damaged, and trees and power lines down. There were about 2,700 people affected by power outages Sunday morning. The path of the possible tornado went northeast into Johnson County, and the tornado apparently lifted off the ground before crossing the Arkansas River, Miller said.

Miller said there were no immediate reports of injuries.

At 7:20 a.m. Sunday, there were 5,491 customers of Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. without power in south Fort Smith and the Barling area. There were another 4,330 customers without power in north Fort Smith and 1,671 without power in Arkoma.

A tornado was reported on the ground in Logan County east of Fort Smith and moved into Johnson County about 1:10 a.m. according to TV weather reports.

There were 2,857 customers without power in Logan County Sunday morning, OG&E's website reported. By Sunday night about 1200 customers remained without power in the county mostly in the Paris area and others in the Charleston area.

Storms ripped across Oklahoma with winds up to 90 mph late Saturday and moved eastward.

There were 124,351 customers affected by power outages in the Sooner State Sunday morning at sunrise including 14,094 in Muskogee County. The Cherokee Casino & Hotel was reportedly struck by lightning. In Tulsa, widespread damage from powerful, 100 mph straight line winds was reported including damage at the Tulsa Fairgrounds. Tulsa city officials requested a disaster declaration, according to reports from radio station KRMG.

A man died in Oilton, Okla. when a tree fell on a house, authorities reported.

Crews were responding to restore power Sunday morning, OG&E reported. An estimate of time for restoration was not available early Sunday.

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This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Winds knock out power in Fort Smith