Storm Damages Buildings, Knocks Down Power Poles In Pittsburg County

Although not nearly as severe as the storms that hit Texas Wednesday night, strong storms also caused damage in Oklahoma.

Fred Morgan was headed to church when the storms got really intense along highway 31 near Blocker, northeast of McAlester. He called his wife, who said she thought a tornado was headed for their home, so he turned around to head back.

"She said, 'I love you, if I don't see you,' and then the phone went dead," Morgan said.

He came home to find his wife okay, but his barn was overturned and destroyed. Other than damage to the underpinning, his home wasn't damaged.

He said he's thankful it wasn't worse.

"We're pretty blessed that none of us was hurt. It could have been a lot worse than it was," Morgan said.

Just down the road, a pontoon boat was also overturned.

Tarps cover roof damage at a house across the road.

"Tore the porch, the roof off the porch on the front and the back and tore some shingles off the main house part," said Pittsburg County Deputy Randy Hass.

The strong storms also turned another barn into a mangled mess. That large barn, which was brand new, was picked up, sent across the highway.

Hass said, after the storm, the highway was covered in downed power lines. Those damaged lines, combined with heavy rain, posed a challenge when he got there.

"Driving conditions were horrible, you know, trying to get from call to call to check on people. Just the water on the roadway, it was coming down so fast," Hass said.

Utility crews worked quickly to replace snapped poles and re-string new lines.

Power was restored by about 3 a.m.

Fred Morgan said he's thankful for their hard work and he's just glad no one was hurt.

"Very thankful that the Lord spared us on this deal," he said.

People with damage are waiting on insurance adjustors, then they'll begin picking up all the debris.