Tornado races through Norman, Oklahoma, injures at least a dozen, tosses vehicles around

Powerful storms with widespread wind gusts and reported tornadoes swept throughout Oklahoma and Kansas, leaving at least a dozen folks injured, and plenty of Michigan residents confronted a fifth-straight day Monday with out energy following final week’s ice storm.

In California, the National Weather Service mentioned a sequence of winter storm programs will proceed transferring into the state through Wednesday after residents received a temporary break from extreme climate on Sunday.

CBS News climate producer David Parkinson mentioned there’s extra extreme climate in retailer for a lot of the nation this week.

Storms moved into Oklahoma Sunday night time from the Texas Panhandle. Widespread gusts as much as 90 mph have been reported in southwest Oklahoma with downed bushes and energy traces, street closures and harm to houses around Norman and Shawnee.

CBS Oklahoma City affiliate KWTW reported that a tornado precipitated widespread harm in Norman, even tossing vehicles about — together with one on high of one other.

The metropolis supervisor’s workplace in Norman mentioned a dozen folks have been damage, none critically, including that the extent of injury would turn into clearer after daylight and that a shelter was opened in a recreation heart. All 12 sufferers who suffered storm-related accidents have been admitted at Norman Regional Hospital, mentioned Norman Police Chief Kevin Foster throughout a news convention on Monday. The hospital confirmed that none of these 12 sufferers suffered life-threatening accidents, Foster mentioned. The police chief instructed reporters that he believes probably the most extreme harm reported in reference to the tornado is a damaged leg, which he mentioned was “due to a car accident.”

As of Monday morning, authorities in Norman mentioned they weren’t conscious of anybody lacking or in any other case unaccounted for within the aftermath of the storm. Foster talked about a trailer park in an japanese part of Norman that was badly broken within the tornado, however he mentioned that police had not acquired experiences “of anyone who is missing from there.”

Several houses, companies and faculties, together with at least one native elementary college, have been broken within the storm, the police chief mentioned Monday, including that a number of roadways have been nonetheless closed attributable to particles and downed energy traces. 

“We ask that the public stay aware of the danger of downed power lines and trees in the roadway,” mentioned Foster. The police chief additionally requested that anybody who encounters animals, like cattle, livestock or domesticated pets, wandering outdoors contact animal welfare instantly.

More than 15,000 houses and companies had no electrical energy in Oklahoma as of 11 a.m. ET, based on PowerOutage.us. That quantity was down from about 20,000 energy outages reported throughout the state three hours earlier. In Norman, about 9,000 prospects have been with out energy at the height of the storm, based on the Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company. A consultant from OG&E mentioned the variety of outages had decreased to about 3,000 prospects by around 8:30 a.m. native time on Monday.

“We’re here for you,” mentioned Darrel Pyle, the town supervisor for Norman, at Monday morning’s news convention. “And we will not rest until everyone has been addressed and their needs met.”

City and regulation enforcement officers in Norman mentioned Monday that they’d not been in contact with the federal authorities for help or sources. However, Foster mentioned they “did contact the state and we did have some response from the state to assist with anything we need.”

In hard-hit southeastern Michigan, nonetheless reeling from the ice storm and excessive winds, the state’s two essential utilities – DTE Energy and Consumers Energy – reported greater than 93,000 prospects have been with out energy as of Monday morning. More than 61,000 of these have been DTE prospects.

PowerOutage mentioned almost greater than 134,000 have been in the dead of night throughout Michigan Monday morning.

Wednesday’s ice storm coated traces and bushes with a half an inch of ice or extra. The storm was adopted Thursday by excessive winds.

DTE spokesperson Cindy Hecht mentioned, “The icing event … is equivalent to a hurricane for coastal utilities. It was the amount of ice and high winds — the winds and the amount of ice accumulation on lines and branches.”

The outages prompted some Democratic state lawmakers to name for legislative hearings in Lansing to query utilities in regards to the lengthy restoration instances and reliability points. “There will be hearings. We will be taking over,” State Sen. Darrin Camilleri instructed WDIV-TV.

California, in the meantime, received a temporary break from extreme climate after a highly effective storm a day earlier swelled Los Angeles-area rivers to harmful ranges, flooded roads and dumped snow at elevations as little as about 1,000 toes. The solar got here out briefly Sunday in better L.A., the place residents emerged to marvel at mountains to the north and east blanketed in white.

Suburban Santa Clarita, in hills north of Los Angeles, acquired its first important snowfall since 1989.

“We went outside and we let our sons play in the snow,” resident Cesar Torres instructed The Santa Clarita Signal. “We figured, while the snow’s there, might as well make a snowman out of it.”

The climate service mentioned Mountain High, one of many closest ski resorts to Los Angeles, acquired an eye-popping 7-and-three-quarter toes of snow over the last storm, with extra doable this week.

San Bernardino County on Monday declared a native state of emergency, saying residents of mountain communities have been both trapped inside or couldn’t get again to their houses after a number of toes of snow fell over the weekend. 

Residents of these mountain communities who weren’t on the mountain have been requested to keep away from the realm to permit first responders and emergency crews entry to the few roads that had been cleared by Monday.

“The Sheriff’s Department and other first responders have had to divert resources to assist with several search and rescue calls for individuals engaged in non-essential travel across the mountain region,” San Bernardino County supervisor Dawn Rower mentioned in a assertion. “This is why agencies urge the public to be patient and respect the travel restrictions and road closures.”

Rain and snow have been falling once more Sunday in Northern California as the primary of two new storms started transferring in. Blizzard warnings went into impact at 4 a.m. Monday and have been to final till Wednesday for a lot of the Sierra Nevada.

“Extremely dangerous and near to impossible mountain travel is expected due to heavy snow and strong wind,” the climate service’s Sacramento workplace warned on Twitter.

After fierce winds toppled bushes and downed wires, about 65,000 utility prospects remained with out electrical energy statewide as of Sunday afternoon, based on PowerOutage.us. The majority of the outages have been in L.A.

Days of downpours dumped virtually 11 inches of rain within the Woodland Hills space of L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, whereas almost 7 inches have been reported in Beverly Hills.

In Valencia, north of L.A., county officers mentioned the heavy rains eroded an embankment at an RV park and swept a number of motorhomes into the Santa Clara River, with emergency video displaying one of many vehicles toppled on its facet. No one was reported injured.

Rare blizzard warnings for Southern California mountains and widespread flood watches ended late Saturday. But Interstate 5, the West Coast’s main north-south freeway, was closed on and off attributable to heavy snow and ice within the Tejon Pass through the mountains north of Los Angeles. Emergency crews, in the meantime, labored to clear mountain roads east of LA of snow and ice.

CBS News’ Parkinson mentioned, “The same storm system that brought snow to Southern California and tornadoes to Oklahoma is now set to bring snow and ice from Wisconsin to Maine and severe weather from Illinois to Ohio. The severe threat won’t be nearly as considerable as in Oklahoma, but damaging wind and an occasional tornado are possible in places like Indianapolis, Columbus and Cincinnati.

” … Snow and ice are the menace Monday into Tuesday morning for Wisconsin and Michigan. The accumulations of ice may very well be important in Michigan and Wisconsin with as a lot as a half inch of ice in locations like Grand Rapids and Green Bay, and there may very well be half a foot of snow north of there.

As the storm strikes east, Parkinson mentioned, a lot of the Northeast will get its “first shovelable snow. … We are looking at 3 inches in NYC and Boston and 6 inches in many NYC and Boston suburbs, plus much of New England. There could be sleet mixed in, too.

At the same time, he said, more storms will hit the West. “This will not be as historic when it comes to low snow, however we do once more have California blizzard warnings,” Parkinson pointed out. “This time, it covers the Sierra, together with Lake Tahoe. We’re trying at a max of 6 toes of snow, and winds gusting to 100 mph at the highest of mountains, and widespread 50+ mph winds gusts” Monday and Tuesday.