A large tornado touched down in the northeastern Oklahoma town of Barnsdall on Monday night, causing one confirmed death, according to Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden.
The system was one of several strong storms moving through News On 6’s viewing area throughout the evening.
Watch live: Severe Weather Coverage with Travis Meyer
There were no reports of damage or injuries from the tornado. The storm was moving to the northeast.
Sheriff Eddie Virden told News On 6 there were no confirmed deaths as of 11 p.m. He confirmed reports of extensive damage in Barnsdall and said Highway 123 will be closed.
According to Osage County Emergency Management, multiple injuries and extensive damage have been reported. OCEM said many people were believed to be trapped in their homes and that downed power lines made it difficult to respond.
The representatives of the municipality are working on cleaning the roads.
Washington County Emergency Management said Highway 75 is closed in both directions north of Frank Phillips and south of Tuxedo due to debris.
This tornado also extended into parts of Bartlesville around 10 p.m. News The sixth storm tracker Alan Hancock was on the east side of downtown Bartlesville and caused extensive damage to a hotel.
B Light Mission in Bartlesville said their mission is open for shelter. This location is on North Virginia 219.
Active hours and alerts
- Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Creek, Okfuski, and Okmulgee Counties until 12:45 AM
- A Tornado Warning has been issued for Creek, Okfusk counties until 12:00 AM
- Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Creek, Mayes, Okmulgee, Osage, Pawnee, Rogers, Tull and Wagoner Counties until 11:30 PM
- Tornado Watch for Adair, Cherokee, Delaware, Haskell, Hughes, Latimer, LeFlore, McIntosh, Mayes, Muskogee, Ottawa, Pittsburg, Pushmataha and Sequoyah counties until 5 a.m.
- A Tornado Watch is in effect for Nowata, Okmulgee, Rogers, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington counties until 11 p.m.
- A tornado watch has been issued for Creek, Key, Lincoln, Noble, Okfusk, Osage, Pawnee and Payne counties until 11:00 p.m. There is also a watch for Chautauqua County in Kansas until 11:00 p.m
What is the weather forecast for this week in Oklahoma?
Severe weather threats are expected across parts of northeastern OK with this storm system Monday afternoon, continuing into the evening and possibly for several hours before moving away from the region. All kinds of severe weather will be possible.
Another moderately severe disturbance is coming Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, with additional severe weather threats along I-44 and to the Southeast beginning Wednesday morning and continuing into the afternoon.
After the front moves across the area Wednesday morning into the afternoon, we expect a few days of respite with cooler and drier air across the state.
Thursday through Friday, a shallow ridge of high pressure will settle across northern OK, bringing sunshine, light winds, and fair but pleasant weather.
Part of the weekend could be a disturbance near the state that could bring a few showers, but the weather will remain cool. We’ll have more on this scenario on Tuesday.
What is a PDS Tornado Watch?
PDS stands for “Particularly Dangerous Situation”. A PDS Tornado Watch means that storms that develop will be able to produce potentially long-lasting, significant tornadoes.
What are the chances of severe weather in Oklahoma on Monday, May 6?
A strong upper-level system will be near the region on Monday. Strong southeast surface winds of 15 to 30 mph will continue to bring low-level moisture to the state, with afternoon highs in the 70s to 80s across the eastern third of the state.
A dry line will be located across western OK, with increasing instability along this feature and to the east this afternoon and evening.
A weak mid-level cap is expected to suppress any surface thunderstorm activity this morning through the afternoon, but a few areas of scattered storms will be possible this afternoon across eastern OK, including a low severe storm threat.
Between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM, a discrete supercell storm will attempt to develop along the dry line and east to west across central and northwestern OK. As strong upper-level winds arrive in the region, the deep layer and speed will increase, allowing the storm to quickly become stronger. These discrete storms will have the potential to produce very large hail and possibly strong, long tornadoes.
By late evening, it is more likely that the storm will be absorbed into at least one or possibly several line segments and will move eastward to a damaging wind threat with some embedded tornado activity.
Flooding is possible in several locations due to recent heavy rainfall. Streams and rivers will also rise again over the next few days.
We encourage you to be aware of your weather tonight as this system approaches your area. Be sure to have a severe weather safety plan in place in case warnings are issued for your area.
Outages in Oklahoma:
Northeast Oklahoma has a variety of utilities and electric cooperatives, many of which have overlapping coverage areas. Below is a link to various outage maps.
Indian Electric Cooperative (IEC) outage map
Oklahoma Electric Cooperative Association Outage Map – (note there are some minor co-ops included)
Link to Alan Crone’s Morning Weather Podcast from Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5j0ovActG8BZCOTqZQzrfU
Link to Alan Krohn’s Morning Weather Podcast from Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/weather-out-the-door/id1499556141?i=1000646589555
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