According to the National Weather Service, there were several dozen reports of tornadoes Friday and Saturday. In some areas, the storms brought up to 18 cm of rain in a matter of hours. Forecasters warned that the risk of extreme weather, including flash flooding, hail and more tornadoes, would continue to be recorded on Sunday.
At least two people, including a four-month-old baby, were killed in Holdenville, Oklahoma, according to local media reports.
Videos and photos posted on social media showed homes flattened, cars wrecked or overturned and trees stripped of branches and leaves in the small town of Sulphur, Oklahoma. Rescue teams went door to door and car to car looking for victims or survivors.
At that time, the tornado that hit the city of Ardmore, Oklahoma, was raising debris to a height of 20,000 feet, The Washington Post reported. Over the next two hours, two more tornadoes approached the city.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt declared a 30-day state of emergency to expedite aid to the 12 hardest-hit counties.
According to poweroutage.us, tens of thousands of homes were without power in Texas and Oklahoma.
Tornadoes hit this region every spring. However, meteorologists note that single large outbreaks for several days in a row are very rare.
