Severe Weather Causes Damage Across Oklahoma

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- Springtime thunderstorms rolled across Oklahoma Friday. A second wave of severe storms moved through Tulsa area and continued to move into eastern Oklahoma.

Strong winds in Tulsa tore up a car wash at 5th and Utica. The News On 6 found twisted metal tangled in trees and part of the roof tossed onto a nearby vacant home.

As the storms moved through Tulsa, there were reports of power lines down and power outages, but no injuries.

SLIDESHOW is storm damage in the Kellyville area.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported nearly 3,800 power outages Friday morning -- nearly 2,900 in Norman. Public Service Company of Oklahoma reported just more than 1,000 outages in Grady County and about 1,200 in the Tulsa area.

A cold front is pushing the storms and with that front will came hail and damaging winds.

If you have a picture or video from Friday's weather, send it to us at pics@newson6.net.  Be sure to put the word "weather" in the subject line.

In Rush Springs, in south central Oklahoma, a severe thunderstorm damaged several homes and caused numerous power outages.

The storms also knocked over a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 35 near Norman and blew down power lines in the area.

The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of 60 to 70 miles per hour and quarter-sized hail in central Oklahoma. State Representative Joe Dorman of Rush Springs says the Friday morning storm damaged two businesses and destroyed two mobile homes in the Grady County town. U.S. 81 into Rush Springs was closed because of downed power lines.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten says wind gusts of 67 miles per hour were recorded in southwestern Oklahoma and 63 miles per hour at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City.

The Weather Service surveyed the damage Friday afternoon in Creek County.

Horses are now left homeless as 70 mph winds shredded their barn. Scraps of metal are now scattered throughout the pasture. Across the field, limbs are snapped and broken branches dangle from treetops.

Another tree was completely uprooted. A nearby farmhouse has roof damage. The family spread out several tarps, to keep anything else from getting inside.

The front will push east into Arkansas and Missouri and be out of Oklahoma by Friday afternoon.

News On 6 meteorologist Alan Crone says for the remainder of the weekend, cooler weather is in store with highs in the low 70's on Saturday and Easter Sunday.

4/2/2010  Related Story: Storms Leave Trail of Damage Across Oklahoma

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.