OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Scattered severe storms continued across Oklahoma and forecasters issued a tornado warning for parts of the state Saturday evening as some heat records were broken during the day in South Texas and people were warned of triple-digit temperatures during the long holiday weekend.
The National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma, said via social platform X that the warning was for northern Noble and far southern Kay counties, an area north of Oklahoma City. “If you are in the path of this storm, hide now!” » It said.
A subsequent message at 10:05 p.m. said the storms had left the area, but warned of a storm moving through North Texas and possibly affecting parts of south-central Oklahoma.
At 10:24 p.m., the Weather Service office in Fort Worth, Texas, issued a message warning residents of Era and Valley View that they were in the direct path of a possible tornado and to immediately seek shelter. The Forth Worth office continued to post shelter advisories and warnings to track the storm’s movement until midnight and separately issued a severe thunderstorm warning with “bullet-sized hail golf” possible.
Firefighters in Denton, Texas, about 37 miles (59.5 kilometers) north of Forth Worth, posted on X that emergency personnel were responding to a boat ramp “for several victims, some reported being trapped “. The Denton Record-Chronicle reported that a tornado touched down in the area.
The Weather Service Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma warned the X of a dangerous storm moving through the northeastern part of the state until 2 a.m. and issued severe thunderstorm advisories for communities such as Hugo, Boswell, Fort Towson, Grainola, Foraker and Herd.
Earlier, the Normandy office compared conditions on Saturday to “ a pile of brush soaked in gasoline.” Forecasters said any storm that forms could explode with large hail, dangerous winds and tornadoes.
“There is a small chance that most matches will be missed and we only see a few storms today. Still, it’s not a matchup I’d want to play. It only takes one storm to have an impact,” he said via Facebook.
Excessive heat, especially for the month of May, That was the danger in South Texas, where the heat index was expected to approach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) in some places over the weekend. Actual temperatures will be lower, although still in the triple digit range, but the humidity will make it feel even hotter.
The region is at the northern end of a heat dome stretching from Mexico to South America, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Sunday looks to be the warmest day with record highs for the late May forecast for Austin, Brownsville, Dallas and San Antonio, Taylor said.
Brownsville and Harlingen, near the Texas-Mexico border, already set new records Saturday for the May 25 date – 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) and 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), respectively – according to the weather service.
Red Flag fire warnings were also in place in West Texas, throughout New Mexico and parts of Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado. Humidity was very low, less than 10%, and wind gusts of up to 97 km/h were recorded.
“We have very dry air, warm temperatures and strong winds that create a high fire risk over a wide area … which can lead to rapid spread or uncontrollable fires,” Taylor said.
Meanwhile, several inches of snow fell Friday morning in Rolla, North Dakota, about 10 miles from the Canadian border.
April and May were a busy month for tornadoes, especially in the Midwest. Climate change increases the severity of storms around the world.
April saw the United States second most tornadoes checked in. So far for 2024, the country is already 25% ahead of the average number of tornadoes, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman.
Iowa was hit hard this week when a deadly tornado Devastated Greenfield. And other storms caused flooding and wind damage elsewhere in the state.
The storm system causing the severe weather was expected to move east as the Memorial Day weekend continued, bringing rain that could delay Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 race in Indiana and more severe storms in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky.
The risk of severe weather shifts to North Carolina and Virginia on Monday, forecasters said.
Gn headline
News Source : apnews.com
