Hominy Cleaning Up After Apparent Tornado

Tornado warnings sent people near Hominy scrambling for cover.  While most homes and businesses were untouched, some folks came out of their storm cellars to find damage totaling thousands of dollars.  The News On 6's Carina Sonn reports one ranch about a mile north of Hominy saw some of the worst damage.

Garon Clemishire's family members were busy on Monday trying to fix what was damaged in an early morning storm.

"I saw a black spinning area right in front of me," said Steve Moles with Hominy Emergency Management. "I drove almost into the side of it."

Steve Moles is the Emergency Management Director for Hominy.  He's also a storm spotter for the National Weather Service.  Moles says he came up close and personal with what he believes was a small tornado.  It ripped the roof off this storage shed, damaged a barn, and left shingles strewn on the lawn.  Water soaked the ceiling, leaving a soggy mess of insulation in the garage.

Traci Clemishire says she's just grateful her family is safe.

Traci called her mother-in-law a little after 5 a.m. Monday.  Fortunately, Garon Clemishire lives a quarter mile away from the house and was able to get to the family's storm shelter just in time.

"You weren't sure what you were going to find when you came up out of the cellar and I have a 3 year old so I was trying to stay calm for her," said Traci Clemishire.

The family's tree was uprooted in the storm, after flash flooding eroded the soil.  Meanwhile, power crews nearby had their hands full repairing a downed power line.

South on Highway 99, flash flooding covered a parking lot and threatening a Hominy church and a Subway restaurant.

Inches of rain poured into drainage ditches all over the county.

Osage County Emergency Management says flooding, straight line winds and hail also caused problems.  A couple of homes were flooded, roads were closed and several smaller outbuildings turned over.

You can track the storms with WARN Interactive Radar and get safety tips in our Storm Zone Section.

You can get the latest WARN Team forecast in the NewsOn6.com Weather section.

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