The count remains unconfirmed but possibly up to three dozen or more tornadoes hit Oklahoma on Saturday, leaving four persons, one a baby, dead in the town of Holdenville and heavy destruction in the southern towns of Sulfur, Ardmore and Marietta.
Two of the deaths happened in Holdenville, located about 75 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. The Hughes County Emergency Management Office confirmed the deaths but did not release the identity of the victims. The body of a woman was pulled from the rubble of a destroyed bar in Sulphur and another victim was in Marietta.
From one end of the state to the other, tornadoes left a path of destruction. Downtown Sulfur was left in shambles as possibly two tornadoes hit the city of 5,000.
(Sulphur before and after)
Governor Kevin Stitt toured the damage and walked through what was left of downtown Sulphur.
“Unbelievable,” he remarked to reporters. “My prayers are with those who lost loved ones as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma last night.”
At least 30-40 people were injured in Sulphur.
Gov. Stitt also declared a state of emergency in a dozen counties where tornados struck.
Horrific scene after a tornado goes through downtown Sulphur, Oklahoma. Prayers. #tornado #sulphurok #oklahoma #severewx pic.twitter.com/UrVmYpU6WC
— Garrett Tarver (@tarver_garrett) April 28, 2024
Other reports showed heavy damage in Marietta and Ardmore. In Marietta, a Homeland grocery store was destroyed andthe Weather Service indicated there was “extensive damage to buildings and trees.” One report indicated the Marietta hospital was also damaged and adjacent I-35 was closed for a wile because of overturned vehicles and powerlines across the highway. One of the storm deaths reportedly involved a motorist on the Interstate.
The National Weather Service showed reported tornadoes caused damage in northwestern Oklahoma near Hillsdale, Morrison, Calumet, Devol in the southwest, and in McClain County.
“Notable damage,” according to the Weather Service was reported to a Homeland grocery store in Norman. In Ardmore, the tornado took a path on the western side of the city.
Strong straight-line winds also caused widespread damage in other areas of the state. Winds estimated at 75 mph blew the roof off a building in Drumright while 72 mph winds left extensive tree damage and downed powerlines in Okmulgee. Other wind damages were received in Cherokee in the northwest, downed power poles in Wagoner and Tulsa where trees were brought down. Power poles were also snapped in Hulah in Osage County.
Hail damage reports were also noted by the National Weather Service ranging from half-dollar sized hail near Ringwood in the northwest to other sizes at various sites around the state.
As of mid-day Sunday, approximately 24,000 customers were without service, and 22,000 customers had their power restored.
Crews, materials, and equipment were staged across the service area before the weekend. Approximately 700 restoration personnel are responding to the storm now with approximately 500 additional traveling from Missouri, Louisiana, and Texas.
OG&E said it will be a multi-day restoration event with the largest impact in southern and southeastern Oklahoma, including Ardmore, Sulphur, Shawnee, Holdenville, as well as northwestern parts of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City metro area.
Estimated Times of Restoration (ETRs) on System Watch will not be available until we can complete our damage assessments and provide an accurate estimate for our customers.
For the latest information, visit OGE.com/StormCenter.
Public Service Company reported only about 40 customers in the eastern part of the state were without power as of Sunday morning.
Reports indicated that as of early Sunday, more than 80,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska were without power because of the series of storms that battered the states.
The following is a list of outages reported by the Oklahoma Rural Electric Cooperatives, as of Sunday mid-day.
- Alfalfa Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:43am2 member-consumers without power.
- Alfalfa (OK): 2
- Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative Corp.
- Updated Apr 28, 9:44am11 member-consumers without power.
- Logan (AR): 9
- Scott (AR): 2
- Canadian Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:37am596 member-consumers without power.
- Hughes (OK): 310
- Lincoln (OK): 12
- McIntosh (OK): 75
- Okfuskee (OK): 98
- Pottawatomie (OK): 30
- Seminole (OK): 71
- Central Rural Electric Cooperative
- Updated Apr 28, 11:32am4 member-consumers without power.
- Lincoln (OK): 2
- Logan (OK): 2
- Choctaw Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:43am130 member-consumers without power.
- Choctaw (OK): 62
- McCurtain (OK): 53
- Pushmataha (OK): 15
- Cimarron Electric Cooperative
- Updated Apr 28, 11:36am1 member-consumers without power.
- Dewey (OK): 1
- CKenergy Electric Cooperative
- Updated Apr 28, 11:40am1 member-consumers without power.
- Kiowa (OK): 1
- Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:41am5 member-consumers without power.
- Muskogee (OK): 4
- Sequoyah (OK): 1
- Cotton Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:26am6 member-consumers without power.
- Cotton (OK): 2
- Stephens (OK): 4
- Indian Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:34am6 member-consumers without power.
- Creek (OK): 2
- Osage (OK): 4
- Kay Electric Cooperative
- Updated Apr 28, 11:37am6 member-consumers without power.
- Kay (OK): 6
- Kiamichi Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:30am578 member-consumers without power.
- Le Flore (OK): 577
- Pittsburg (OK): 1
- Lake Region Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:42am100 member-consumers without power.
- Cherokee (OK): 67
- Mayes (OK): 33
- Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative
- Updated Apr 28, 11:40am72 member-consumers without power.
- Delaware (OK): 12
- Mayes (OK): 60
- Northfork Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:35am2 member-consumers without power.
- Roger Mills (OK): 2
- Oklahoma Electric Cooperative
- Updated Apr 28, 11:43am24 member-consumers without power.
- Cleveland (OK): 24
- Ozarks Electric Cooperative
- Updated Apr 28, 11:39am70 member-consumers without power.
- Benton (AR): 10
- Madison (AR): 51
- Washington (AR): 8
- Adair (OK): 1
- People’s Electric Cooperative
- Updated Apr 28, 11:36am610 member-consumers without power.
- Coal (OK): 56
- Garvin (OK): 3
- Hughes (OK): 68
- Johnston (OK): 257
- Murray (OK): 87
- Pontotoc (OK): 138
- Seminole (OK): 1
- Red River Valley Rural Electric Association
- Updated Apr 28, 11:40am1,178 member-consumers without power.
- Carter (OK): 413
- Johnston (OK): 239
- Love (OK): 488
- Marshall (OK): 38
- Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:43am7 member-consumers without power.
- McClain (OK): 7
- Southeastern Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Updated Apr 28, 11:35am147 member-consumers without power.
- Atoka (OK): 10
- Bryan (OK): 137
- Verdigris Valley Electric Cooperative
- Updated Apr 28, 11:43am3 member-consumers without power.
- Rogers (OK): 2
- Tulsa (OK): 1
A statement from Oklahoma City officials indicated some parts of the city received what they called “minor damage” from the storms late Saturday night.
- 5407 Canyon Dr. – power lines down
- 4500 Tinker Rd. – power line damage
- NW 10th Street and Sara Road – power line damage
- SE 29th Street and Westminster Road – power lines and stop signs down
- I-40 and Anderson Road – concrete reported under I-40.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation announced Sunday several highways were closed because of the storm damage and flooding.
HUGHES COUNTY
- All lanes of north and southbound SH-48 are closed between SH-9E and US-270, near Holdenville due to severe weather clean-up
LOVE COUNTY
- Northbound I-35 is narrowed to one lane at mm 15, in Marietta. Southbound lanes are open, but drivers should be prepared for delays and intermittent lane closures as crews work to clear the area of debris
- All lanes of north and southbound US-77 are closed south of Marietta due to severe weather clean-up
MCINTOSH COUNTY
- All lanes of US-266 are closed at N 4220 Rd., just east of Checotah, due to high water
MURRAY COUNTY
- All lanes of SH-7 and US-177 are closed in Sulphur due to severe weather clean-up
PITTSBURG COUNTY
- North and southbound US-69B are closed between SH-113 and McAlester due to high water
- All lanes of east and westbound SH-31 are closed between New Baker Rd. and Haywood Rd. due to high water
- All lanes of east and westbound SH-63 are closed between Crawley Rd. and Hopper Rd. due to high water