NW Oklahoma suffers some tornado damage

WOODWARD, Okla. (AP) _ Towns in northwest Oklahoma reported minimal damage from Saturday's tornadoes and thunderstorms. <br><br>A tornado that touched the ground near Sharon, about 16 miles south of

Sunday, March 28th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WOODWARD, Okla. (AP) _ Towns in northwest Oklahoma reported minimal damage from Saturday's tornadoes and thunderstorms.

A tornado that touched the ground near Sharon, about 16 miles south of Woodward, blew a car off the road and killed a cow, the Woodward News reported.

About five miles farther south, near Vici, Dewey County Sheriff's Deputy Travis Painter videotaped a tornado touching down.

The twister was at least half a mile wide, and it stayed on the ground seven to 10 minutes, he said.

``I watched it as far as I could see until it got wrapped back up in rain, Painter said.

Then, he watched as a small ``rope tornado'' touched down briefly within 100 yards of him.

Painter reported seeing hail slightly smaller than golf ball-size along with the storms.

His department received no reports of damage.

``I think it tore up some fences, but that's about it,'' Painter said.

A tornado watch for 45 counties in the western half of Oklahoma lasted through early Saturday evening as the storms moved east.

Showers and thunderstorms were expected in eastern Oklahoma on Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Clear weather was forecast for the rest of the state.