Harsh winds cause damage in Coweta

COWETA, Okla. (AP) -- Straight-line winds blowing 80 to 90 mph<br>broke out windows, downed trees and ripped part of the roof from a<br>Coweta school.<br> <br>The storms that moved through Monday evening

Tuesday, August 24th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

COWETA, Okla. (AP) -- Straight-line winds blowing 80 to 90 mph
broke out windows, downed trees and ripped part of the roof from a
Coweta school.

The storms that moved through Monday evening heavily damaged the
Coweta Intermediate Grade Center, but students were back in class
today, doubling up in an undamaged wing of the building.

Superintendent Sam Farmer said it will take weeks to repair four
damaged classrooms where about 80 students meet.

"It tore the roof off," he said. "You can stand there and
look up and see the sky."

The school district also found signs knocked down, toppled trees
and baseball diamond fences blown down.

The storm hit Coweta about 6 p.m. and lasted about 10 minutes,
said Associate Emergency Management Director Tom Tillotson. About
2,500 residents lost power.

Electricity had been restored to all but 100 homes by this
morning, officials said.

Some downtown buildings had broken windows and minor roof
damage, but no injuries were reported, Tillotson said.

"That was kind of a miracle, considering the storm literally
started on top of us," he said.

During the evening storms, Inola reported 60- to 70-mph winds,
as did Haskell and Natura, the National Weather Service reported.