Parts of southern Oklahoma cleaning up after storms

<br>Residents in parts of southern Oklahoma were left to clean up after severe thunderstorms left damage in the region. <br><br>There were no immediate reports of injuries from Tuesday night's storms,

Wednesday, April 17th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Residents in parts of southern Oklahoma were left to clean up after severe thunderstorms left damage in the region.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from Tuesday night's storms, which spawned at least one tornado in Johnston County.

A twister was confirmed about 1 1/2 miles southwest of Wapanucka, but no damage was reported, said Betty Roan, Johnston County Civil Emergency manager.

``The worse thing we had was half-dollar sized hail,'' Roan said. ``But it's the same storm that's giving fits in Atoka.''

The storm continued along Oklahoma Highway 7 and may have set down at least one tornado that damaged an Atoka Municipal Airport hangar and the municipal ballpark, said Eddy Cooke, deputy emergency manager for Atoka County.

``The hangar had both ends of it damaged, and a boat stored inside was damaged,'' said Cooke, who added that there were no airplanes inside. ``We sounded the sirens in Atoka twice. There was ample time for people to get to shelters.''

Cooke said spotters saw several funnels in the area, including one about six miles west of Tushka. Officials would continue assessing damage on Wednesday, Cooke said.

There was no immediate word of damage in Pushmataha County, where several tornado warnings were issued. A flash flood warning also was issued for the county after heavy rains dumped more than 2 inches of rain in a short time.