The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center has warned against tornadoes and severe hail. The 90 percent chance of a tornado occurring was attributed to the 111 mph winds reported in both northern Texas and Oklahoma.

Kansas was also pelted by hail that reached 4 inches of diameter, as severe winds engulfed the city of Topeka. It was predicted that a tornado could be produced by the ongoing super-cell thunderstorm. Many schools in Oklahoma City and the state of Kansas canceled classes; the Wichita State University also closed down due to the possibility of terrible weather.

A photo of a pedestrian running to shelter on Wednesday. Thunderstorms filled the sky of Oklahoma City, which ended up in a large scale power outage. Credit: CNN
A photo of a pedestrian running to shelter on Wednesday. Thunderstorms filled the sky of Oklahoma City, which ended up in a large scale power outage. Credit: CNN

Bad weather on the Great Plains

Severe weather was expected over the course of the week on Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. It was reported that small tornadoes appeared on Summer County in the proximity of Mayfield Wichita, Kansas state, and in southwestern Indiana; the most dangerous locations appeared to be within the area between southern Oklahoma and Nebraska.

In the morning, officials from Kansas military base were forced to store aircraft so it wouldn’t be damaged over the course of the storms. The aircraft was sent to Spokane, Washington state and North Dakota.

The Storm Prediction Center later issued another forecast where Dallas would also be surrounded by bad weather, putting 53 million people at risk. Baseball and softball games programmed for the evening were canceled and most businesses also closed their doors due to the oncoming storms.

Along the Kansas state border lies Gage County, which was subject to hail as it broke through windows and windshields. The hail storm started at approximately 5 p.m. but it continued to become more severe as the evening passed; but it was different for the city of Bremen, as it was pelted by hail the size of grapefruits.

Thunderstorms filled the sky of Oklahoma City, which ended up in a large scale power outage; a tornado watch was issued shortly thereafter until midnight, as the night skies were still likely to produce the wind funnels.

As the multi-episode storm developed, a total of 70 million people were at risk of severe weather.

The Storm Prediction Center recommends the people exposed to severe weather to know where they can go in order to shelter themselves against the storm, and to always have some way of communicating with family or friends, such as having a rendezvous point. It is also important to be wary of the weather alerts issued by the Storm Prediction Center as they will notify when it is safe to go outside and reincorporate in regular activities.

Source: CNN