Oklahoma

Strong storm flips over RVs in Oklahoma and leaves 1 person dead

People “essentially lost just about everything they own in a matter of seconds,” said Pawnee County Sheriff Darrin Varnell

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

A strong storm moved through part of Oklahoma, flipping over several camping vehicles and downing trees and power lines, authorities said. One death was reported.

Early Friday, the city of Pawnee asked residents to move about the area carefully and said there were several areas still without power.

WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE

icon

>Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are.

“Crews have worked through the night and are still out," according to the city.

The city earlier said damage around the town from the Thursday night storm was significant, with several roads closed. The National Weather Service office in Tulsa received wind gust reports of up to 72 mph (116 kph) and hail the size of golf balls.

One person died in an RV that flipped, said Pawnee County Sheriff Darrin Varnell. He said others were damaged and people “essentially lost just about everything they own in a matter of seconds.”

“Right now, we're not sure whether it was straight-line wind damage or tornado,” meteorologist Mark Plate in the Tulsa office said Friday morning. “We'll have to send out survey teams today to survey the damage.”

Pawnee Public Schools were closed Friday due to storm damage. Homecoming activities Thursday night were canceled because of the weather.

Pawnee, which has about 1,900 people, is in northeast Oklahoma, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of Tulsa.

Copyright The Associated Press
Contact Us