Posted on 05/13/2010 10:54:59 AM PDT by Star Traveler
How is the area west of St Francis Hospital and the Warren Clinic?
How is the area west of St Francis Hospital and the Warren Clinic?
I didn't go that far West to look it over... I went from the Arkansas River, where the tornado crossed the river, and then out East, to Southern Hill Country Club at S. Lewis.
The family got tired of driving around after a while ... :-) ... we were winding in and out and around on side streets ...
If I get back out and go there, I'll post it here.
Posted: May 13, 2010 1:57 PM
Updated: May 13, 2010 2:54 PM
TULSA, OK -- Thunderstorms which produced winds of over 80 MPH in Creek and Tulsa counties along with a tornado in west Tulsa, knocked out power for thousands of customers Thursday morning.
Both PSO and OG&E scrambled utility crews Thursday to fix downed lines and broken power poles across the region.
Public Service Company of Oklahoma reported nearly 40,000 customers without power during the morning hours and by noon that number had been reduced to 28,000.
PSO says 80 percent of those customers should have power restored by Thursday evening with the rest getting their power back by late Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported power outages in their service area which includes Bristow, Sapulpa, Glenpool, Bristow and Bixby of about 2,000 Thursday morning.
By noon, OG&E said the outage number was fewer than 1,700.
Posted: May 13, 2010 6:32 AM
Updated: May 13, 2010 3:27 PM
12:29 p.m. SAPULPA, OK The National Weather Service has determined that the Sapulpa tornado measured as an EF-2 on the Fujita Scale.
11:58 a.m. TULSA, OK -- PSO is reporting about 28,000 customers across the Tulsa area are currently without power. That number is down from a peak of 40,000 Thursday morning.
OG&E power outage numbers:
Bixby ----- 532 Bristow --- 130 Glenpool -- 526 Sapulpa --- 751
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10:21 a.m. TULSA, OK -- Preliminary reports from The National Weather Service indicate that it was a tornado that caused damage in southwest Tulsa Thursday morning.
The area is 78th Street South and 23rd West Avenue.
News On 6 Chief of Meteorology Travis Meyer flew over the storm damage in SKYNEWS 6 Thursday morning and agreed that the damage indicates that there was rotation in the storm. Weather Service crews are out making assessments will have more information Thursday afternoon.
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10:01 a.m. TULSA, OK -- The city of Tulsa says about 100 City of Tulsa Public Works employees reported to work early Thursday to begin removing trees and other debris from arterial streets following early-morning wind storms that caused damage in a large area of the city.
Damage spread from west Tulsa to as far east as 129th, and from downtown to as far south as 121st St. The heaviest damage appeared to be between South Yale and Riverside Drive in the 51st and 61st Streets area.
In the 61st and Lewis area traffic were completely blocked by downed trees and parts of a commercial building roof that had blown into the street.
City crews are responding first to clear arterial streets of debris blocking traffic. After all arterials are cleared the crews will remove debris from streets in residential areas.
Officials say City of Tulsa crews will not be removing or hauling debris from private properties.
Power outages also affected thousands of area residents and traffic signals in some parts of town were also affected. City crews placed four-way stop signs at several intersections where signals were not functioning and crews will be working Thursday to return signals to normal operation as power is restored.
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9:39 a.m. TULSA, OK -- EMSA is reporting it has not had any reports of injuries from Thursday morning's storms.
EMSA officials say they have been at the Maplewood Care Center at 6202 East 61st Street for several hours. The center is without power and EMSA is there to provide oxygen to patients needing it.
EMSA says two patients have been transported to Tulsa hospitals for further care because of the power outage problems.
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9:31 a.m. TULSA, OK -- The Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross will be deploying damage assessment teams to assist victims of Thursday morning's storms.
People needing assistance from the Red Cross with sheltering, or those who have damage to their homes, are encouraged to call 831-1109 so that a team can be directed to their area.
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9:30 a.m. TULSA COUNTY -- Severe weather caused damage to several Tulsa County Parks. Most damage was a result of high winds and tree breakage, many of which were minimal.
LaFortune Park sustained the most damage with high levels of tree breakage and scattered debris.
The LaFortune Park Golf Course will be closed for at least one day.
The picnic area will be closed for at least two days as hanging tree limbs create a safety hazard for the public.
Southlakes Golf Course will be closed for the remainder of Thursday while crews clean up limbs and debris on the course, but the course will likely reopen Friday.
The public is urged to be safe in dealing with storm damage.
"We ask that our park patrons be patient while damage is assessed and handled. Our crews will handle the cleanup in a quick and efficient manner," said Tulsa County Spokesman Michael Willis.
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9:16 a.m. BROKEN ARROW, OK -- Broken Arrow city officials say right now it appears that their community did not experience quite the winds speeds that Tulsa did. Officials say most damage appears to be garden variety thunderstorm type with straight line winds.
Limbs and trash are strewn about many neighborhoods.
So far, the Broken Arrow Police Department has not received any information regarding injuries or significant structural damage to residences.
There are a few reports of entire trees that were blown over.
New Orleans St. (101st Street) from Olive Avenue (129th Street) to Garnett Road will be closed for about 48 hrs due to power related work
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TULSA, OK -- Tulsa residents were awakened with the sound of storm sirens as strong thunderstorms with straight line winds rolled across northeastern Oklahoma early Thursday morning causing considerable damage in Creek, Tulsa, Rogers and Wagoner counties.
The hardest hit areas are in northeast Sapulpa, south and west Tulsa, east side of Broken Arrow and Coweta.
Sapulpa Police say homes and businesses in northeast portions of Sapulpa are heavily damage.
In Tulsa, a shopping center at 61st and Lewis lost its roof. Southern Hills Golf Course was also badly hut.
Also there is considerable damage in the 41st and Mingo area and 31st and 129th East Avenue area. Another area of considerable damage is 81st near 33rd West Avenue.
The city of Tulsa says Public works crews are clearing debris from arterial streets in an area receiving the most damage from morning storms.
City officials say crews are working in an area of 121st to 36th Streets and Delaware to Riverside Drive where roof materials and trees are reported to be blocking arterials.
Officials say clearing arterials will be the first priority.
There have been homes and businesses damaged in Coweta and Haskell as well.
There is also a number of area schools closed because of power outages.
Posted: May 13, 2010 3:18 PM
Updated: May 13, 2010 3:46 PM
NEAR WYANDOTTE, OK -- Audrey Graham is ready to find a new place to live after riding out Thursday morning's storm in her unanchored trailer home.
Graham, 40, says she'd just let her dog out at about 6 a.m. when she heard a noise that sounded like a bus or a train approaching her home. She ran outside to find her dog, a yellow lab named Cowboy, when the storm hit.
She says her trailer sits on the highest point in Ottawa County, about three miles from Tiff City, Missouri.
The storm lifted the trailer off the ground and set it back down, but didn't do any damage. "This trailer kind of lifted up and the floor kind of flexed, but that was it," Graham said. "All I can say is that God was watching over me, because this thing's not tied down."
Her neighbors weren't so lucky.
Graham took photos of what's left of a neighbor's barn, and of another neighbor's car lifted into the air by the root ball of a downed tree.
She says the car is owned by an older woman who couldn't believe her eyes when she saw what had happened.
"She's just stunned. She can't believe it," said Graham.
Graham said the neighbor doesn't know where to begin to try to get her car down. The incident broke the back window of the car, but apparently didn't do any other damage to it.
Cowboy, he's a yellow lab. About an hour later he was ok, trapped under a smashed tree.
She can't understand why her trailer was spared serious damage when her neighbors were not. She said it may be because she had her trees trimmed after spending 28 days without power in the last ice storm.
But Graham said she's ready to move to a home with a strong foundation. "I'm done with this trailer. I'm definitely going to check into a storm shelter."
Nick Madden inspects a friend's business in Sapulpa near Oklahoma 66 and Frankoma Road today. Photo by Stephen Pngry/Tulsa World
Reported by: Marla Carter
Last Update: 3:42 pm
Power outages didn't stop Sara Hobbie from having her morning coffee.
"We were very fortunate. We have a motor home. I was able to turn on the generator and make my coffee this morning," said Sara Hobbie, who lives near 33rd W. Ave. and W. 78th St.
She needed the pick-me-up after seeing what the storm did to her yard.
"I went out and started looking around with the flashlight. I started seeing more and more. The end of my barn is out, and my roof on my barn is messed up," said Hobbie.
Then the sun came out and the damage was more apparent.
"Then as daylight comes out, I see my neighbors house is destroyed, and the other neighbor's barn looked like it exploded. We were very fortunate," said Hobbie.
The southern portion of her neighbor's home sustained a lot damage. The roof was taken off along with bricks in the front of the house.
Crews spent Thursday morning putting a tarp over the home to protect it from rain and vandals.
Fortunately, the woman that lives there wasn't at the house when the storm hit.
Her neighbors stepped up to help out.
"I'm in the construction business. We just happened to be here with a bunch of the other neighbors. I've got access to the people that we need to secure the house immediately," said Kent Basnett, a neighbor and contractor.
People were also shoveling up debris just miles away in Sapulpa.
A manufacturing building that houses Amron Enterprises and American Alloy Steel was hit, along with another building across the street.
Brad Moody was the first employee to show up to work on Thursday.
His first thought, "Not again. We were hit by the one that hit Moore. The May 3rd tornado," said Moody.
He says the damage wasn't as bad this time around and employees of Amron Enterprises hope to have the building open again on Monday.
We just got our power back on from Monday’s tornadoes in central OK. Hope things calm down soon. Glad you are OK.
Glad to hear that you and yours are alright. It has been a monstrous week for my neighbors north of the TX/OK border. You all are in my prayers. Also going to donate to the American Red Cross. At least I will have done something to help.
I had an apartment at 71st and Riverside.
My brother went to high school in Sapulpa before moving to Kellyville.
I never heard of a Tornado Crossing the Arkansas.
Those Indians musta not knowd whuts they wuz tahling bout.
That’s horrible.
My prayers going out to those affected.
Kellyville is an...... interesting place.
I lived there for a bit.
There use to be bar between Sapulpa and Kellyville and Country Stars would stop in and play some music.
Great place, forget the name.
Prayers lifted.
I never heard of a Tornado Crossing the Arkansas.
It definitely did. I saw the trees down where it crossed. It was a swath as it crossed the river and took out more trees and fences and stuff as it crossed Riverside Drive.
The swath that it cut was maybe about 1 block wide, but it's kinda hard to tell at times. In some places it looked like it could be two blocks wide (through some of those neighborhoods) and other places maybe one block wide.
There were 80 MPH (at least) straight line winds, which is why Tulsa set off the sirens all over the city, but this particular damage and "swath" was not "straight-line winds" but tornadic, as you could tell the intense damage in a "swath" that wasn't there as you went away from the pathway on either side of it.
I would say that it was going (rought) ENE as it crossed, with it being maybe less than a block north of 71st on the West side of the river and about a block north of 71st, maybe 1.5 blocks north, and continuing in the Easterly direction.
It's been interesting to see the damage. Obviously it wasn't an intense enough tornado to blow apart most of the houses, but it could do a lot of other damage like blow out windows and blow apart smaller structures and other things that are very "wind-susceptible" ... like carports and/or fences and/or trees.
I could see fences knocked down in the westerly direction on one side of it, and then on the other side of the swath, I could see the fences knocked down in the easterly direction -- that indicating a "swirling action" by the winds.
There was one place where it must have been the home of a police officer and the Tulsa Police car was smashed (by their tree being blown over) and their other car in the driveway was literally smashed almost flat. A woman who was standing out there said that the damage happened first, without any warning -- and then a bit later the sirens went off. So apparentlly those sirens were a bit late for some people But, in any case, there wasn't enough time to react, apparently because the twister itself was moving along (its own ground speed) at about 65 MPH across South Tulsa.
How is the area west of St Francis Hospital and the Warren Clinic?
Okay, I just got back from checking out that area. People really are getting "on it" pretty fast and cleaning up the area. In many places, even as I went out earlier today and looked around, there were many who had already gathered their debris and tree limbs and trees and had already cut it up and stacked it all ... LOL ... boy some people work fast to clean it up.
But, let me tell you, there are all sorts of "cleanup businesses" and tree services all through those neighborhoods doing all sorts of cleanup right now. They're not wasting any time. In fact, in another day or two, except for major house damage and uprooted big trees, you might not be able to tell anymore that a tornado went through. People are cleaning up that fast.
In the area where I've been there are no houses blown apart but there are houses that are severely damaged by trees going onto them.
But, in regards to the Warren Clinic. I really did not even know where that was, but as I was making my way through the neighborhood area, I saw it (and it sorta surprised me, because I wasn't expecting it). And from the area of damage that I saw next to the Warren clinic, I would say that the twister passed about (maybe) two blocks south of the Warren Clinic.
As I got over to Yale, it looked like the twister has gotten closer to 51st and was probably one block to the South of 51st (and that would have been the north edge of the twister, as it could have been one to two blocks wide (at least the damage path). So, it went across La Fortune Golf Course and into the neighborhood to the East of it.
From the map that I'm looking at, it almost seems that the twister was following Joe Creek after it passed Lewis (can't say that for sure, because the damage was in the residence areas, and not in the canal). But, it seems to have almost started going straight East from a point halfway between Lewis and Harvard, and continuing Eastward as it went through La Fortune Golf Course and then into the neighborhood to the east of that.
I didn't go much further than about halfway between Yale and Sheridan. It was difficult trying to find the pathway, because (of course) the twister doesn't follow roads and it goes into between blocks a lot and thus, you have to do a whole lot of "winding around" in the neighborhoods to see where it went. But, you can definitely see it, without a doubt.
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