National Weather Service Rates Sapulpa Tornado EF-2

NewsOn6.com

12:29 p.m. SAPULPA, OK The National Weather Service has determined that the Sapulpa tornado measured as an EF-2 on the Fujita Scale.

11:58 a.m. TULSA, OK -- PSO is reporting about 28,000 customers across the Tulsa area are currently without power.  That number is down from a peak of 40,000 Thursday morning.

OG&E power outage numbers:

• Bixby       532
• Bristow    130
• Glenpool   526
• Sapulpa    751

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10:21 a.m. TULSA, OK -- Preliminary reports from The National Weather Service indicate that it was a tornado that caused damage in southwest Tulsa Thursday morning. 

The area is 78th Street South and 23rd West Avenue. 

News On 6 Chief of Meteorology Travis Meyer flew over the storm damage in SKYNEWS 6 Thursday morning and agreed that the damage indicates that there was rotation in the storm. Weather Service crews are out making assessments will have more information Thursday afternoon.

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10:01 a.m. TULSA, OK -- The city of Tulsa says about 100 City of Tulsa Public Works employees reported to work early Thursday to begin removing trees and other debris from arterial streets following early-morning wind storms that caused damage in a large area of the city.

Damage spread from west Tulsa to as far east as 129^th, and from downtown to as far south as 121^st St.  The heaviest damage appeared to be between South Yale and Riverside Drive in the 51^st and 61^st Streets area.

In the 61^st and Lewis area traffic were completely blocked by downed trees and parts of a commercial building roof that had blown into the street.

City crews are responding first to clear arterial streets of debris blocking traffic. After all arterials are cleared the crews will remove debris from streets in residential areas.

Officials say City of Tulsa crews will not be removing or hauling debris from private properties.

Power outages also affected thousands of area residents and traffic signals in some parts of town were also affected.  City crews placed four-way stop signs at several intersections where signals were not functioning and crews will be working Thursday to return signals to normal operation as power is restored.

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9:39 a.m. TULSA, OK -- EMSA is reporting it has not had any reports of injuries from Thursday morning's storms. 

EMSA officials say they have been at the Maplewood Care Center at 6202 East 61st Street for several hours.  The center is without power and EMSA is there to provide oxygen to patients needing it. 

EMSA says two patients have been transported to Tulsa hospitals for further care because of the power outage problems.

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9:31 a.m. TULSA, OK -- The Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross will be deploying damage assessment teams to assist victims of Thursday morning's storms. 

People needing assistance from the Red Cross with sheltering, or those who have damage to their homes, are encouraged to call 831-1109 so that a team can be directed to their area.

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9:30 a.m. TULSA COUNTY --  Severe weather caused damage to several Tulsa County Parks.  Most damage was a result of high winds and tree breakage, many of which were minimal. 

LaFortune Park sustained the most damage with high levels of tree breakage and scattered debris. 

The LaFortune Park Golf Course will be closed for at least one day. 

The picnic area will be closed for at least two days as hanging tree limbs create a safety hazard for the public. 

Southlakes Golf Course will be closed for the remainder of Thursday while crews clean up limbs and debris on the course, but the course will likely reopen Friday. 

The public is urged to be safe in dealing with storm damage. 

"We ask that our park patrons be patient while damage is assessed and handled.  Our crews will handle the cleanup in a quick and efficient manner," said Tulsa County Spokesman Michael Willis.

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9:16 a.m. BROKEN ARROW, OK -- Broken Arrow city officials say right now it appears that their community did not experience quite the winds speeds that Tulsa did.  Officials say most damage appears to be garden variety thunderstorm type with straight line winds. 

Limbs and trash are strewn about many neighborhoods. 

So far, the Broken Arrow Police Department has not received any information regarding injuries or significant structural damage to residences.

There are a few reports of entire trees that were blown over. 

More Tulsa Area Storm Damage

New Orleans St. (101^st Street) from Olive Avenue (129^th Street⁾  to Garnett Road will be closed for about 48 hrs due to power related work 

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TULSA, OK -- Tulsa residents were awakened with the sound of storm sirens as strong thunderstorms with straight line winds rolled across northeastern Oklahoma early Thursday morning causing considerable damage in Creek, Tulsa, Rogers and Wagoner counties. 

The hardest hit areas are in northeast Sapulpa, south and west Tulsa, east side of Broken Arrow and Coweta. 

Sapulpa Police say homes and businesses in northeast portions of Sapulpa are heavily damage. 

In Tulsa, a shopping center at 61^st and Lewis lost its roof. Southern Hills Golf Course was also badly hut.

Also there is considerable damage in the 41^st and Mingo area and 31^st and 129^th East Avenue area. Another area of considerable damage is 81st near 33rd West Avenue.

The city of Tulsa says Public works crews are clearing debris from arterial streets in an area receiving the most damage from morning storms.

May 13 Tulsa Area Storm Damage

City officials say crews are working in an area of 121st to 36th Streets and Delaware to Riverside Drive where roof materials and trees are reported to be blocking arterials.

Officials say clearing arterials will be the first priority.

There have been homes and businesses damaged in Coweta and Haskell as well.

Viewers Share Storm Damage Photos

There is also a number of area schools closed because of power outages.  Check here to see if your school is closed today.

If you have pictures or video to share, send them to pics@newson6.net