UNITED STATES – Severe weather is forecast for large parts of the Southern Plains and Midwest on Monday, threatening tornadoes, damaging winds, and flooding. This comes after a weekend of destructive tornadoes in Oklahoma that left around a dozen people injured.
Shane Barker, a tornado survivor from Oklahoma City, described the sudden chaos.
“I looked outside and then like five seconds, all hell broke loose,” Barker said.
The National Weather Service reported at least five tornadoes, including two powerful EF-3 strength, that tore through parts of Oklahoma overnight Saturday into Sunday. Many residents were awakened by warnings sent to their cellphones, scrambling to safety in the dark.
Katie Anderson, another survivor, recounted the experience: “I could only see when there were flashes of lightning while we were going, but it was just like random things moving.” A neighbor’s boat ended up in her backyard.
By daylight, the full devastation became clear, with several homes and businesses flattened or heavily damaged. Blake Catanzano, owner of Next Phase Roofing & Construction, said, “It was just a war zone, the whole roof was just rolled into a burrito, basically.”
At least one school lost a significant portion of its roof. The state’s governor announced an emergency declaration for six counties, and officials are working to ensure all polling places have power ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election.
The region faces no relief on Monday, with continued threats of thunderstorms, tornadoes, wind, and large hail from southern Texas up into western Illinois. The Storm Prediction Center is tracking rainfall between one and three inches across the Central and Midwestern U.S., including Wisconsin and Michigan, two key swing states.
