Rain, possible tornado leaves damage in NW Oklahoma

<br>Heavy rain and a possible weak tornado left some northwestern Oklahoma residents with the task of cleaning up downed trees, damaged property and flooded buildings. <br><br>Northwestern Oklahoma remained

Friday, October 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Heavy rain and a possible weak tornado left some northwestern Oklahoma residents with the task of cleaning up downed trees, damaged property and flooded buildings.

Northwestern Oklahoma remained under a flash flood watch until early Friday as storms reformed Thursday over the same areas hit with heavy rain the previous night.

The National Weather Service also issued tornado warnings Thursday evening as severe weather rumbled through northern Oklahoma.

There were no reports that the any twisters touched down Thursday, but an undetected tornado may have left damage near Kremlin late Wednesday, officials believe.

Garfield County Emergency Management Mike Honigsberg on Thursday said he sent a team to assess the damage and debris. Uprooted trees, damaged farm equipment and a pontoon boat that was thrown into a wheat field 100 yards away were some of the clues left behind.

``That very well could have been an F0 tornado,'' Honigsberg said. ``There was some rotation with that storm.''

Honigsberg said it could have been a weak twister or a strong gustnado, which is a circulation of winds on the leading edge of a thunderstorm.

In Alfalfa County, between 6 and 7 inches of rainfall in less than 12 hours caused nearby creeks to leave their banks, flooding homes, businesses and city offices in Cherokee, officials said.

Officials with the Aline-Cleo, Burlington, Carmen and Cherokee school districts canceled classes on Thursday because of the flooding.

Cherokee Superintendent Lance Miller said north and south roads into Cherokee were impassable Thursday morning, and flooding prevented teachers commuting from Alva and surrounding areas from getting to school.

``I don't know where all the water came from,'' said Mayor Karen Hawkins.

City workers used buckets to bail water out of city hall, where 4 inches of water stood, Hawkins said.

``We've had floods,'' she said. ``We just had more water come from different directions than we ever had before.''

Eight inches of rain was reported in Byron and more than 7 was measured in Carmen, the National Weather Service reported.