Storms, possible tornado pound Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Severe thunderstorms packing high straight-line winds and a possible tornado pounded parts of Oklahoma on Friday, authorities said. <br/><br/>No injuries were immediately reported

Saturday, June 17th 2006, 12:26 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Severe thunderstorms packing high straight-line winds and a possible tornado pounded parts of Oklahoma on Friday, authorities said.

No injuries were immediately reported with the storms, which marched west to east across the state ahead of a strong storm system.

Storm spotters reported at least one severe storm spawning a possible tornado in Harmon County near Gould in southwestern Oklahoma, but there was no immediate confirmation of a touchdown.

In Greer County, straight-line winds gusting to 65 mph snapped power poles.

``We've had power outages and power lines are down. That's about the extent of it,'' said Greer County sheriff's dispatcher Steve McMahan.

A tornado warning was issued for Jackson County, where power lines were reported down, authorities said. There was no immediate word if a twister or straight-line winds caused that damage.

The storms developed in an area that fell under a tornado watch Friday night. A severe thunderstorm watch was extended to cover 29 more counties in central and eastern Oklahoma and remain in effect until 7 a.m. Saturday.

The storms formed ahead of a storm system that approached Oklahoma from the west. Forecasters expected the system to slowly move across the region, with opportunities for precipitation continuing through Tuesday.

Severe weather was possible on Saturday, but the threat was expected to decline after that, the weather service said.