On Wednesday afternoon, a tornado watch was issued for Oklahoma County and a large portion of northern and northwest Oklahoma. According to Norman National Weather Service meteorologists, the day's weather was "everything but the kitchen sink."
This comes after several weeks of wildfires and inclement weather, including a storm that hit Wednesday night with strong winds and large hail knocking out electricity for many homes.
A little more than 1,000 homes in Canadian County lost power due to high wind gusts as part of 8,000 power outages reported in the state as of 10:38 p.m.
The National Weather Service in Norman has also warned that a few tornadoes are possible, along with hail the size of tennis balls, wind gusts of up to 75 miles per hour, and evening temperatures that will reach the mid-70s with gentle winds for a pleasant atmosphere.
9 News Chief Meteorologist David Payne says that a cold front is also expected to arrive this evening, making for a chilly Halloween.
According to NWS Norman, regions north of the Oklahoma City metro area are at the highest risk for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Timing-wise, severe thunderstorms were expected to form across southern and central Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City metro, as early as 5 p.m., with the most intense activity probably happening between 7 and 11 p.m.
According to The Oklahoman, As of Wednesday afternoon, a tornado watch was in effect for 21 counties in Oklahoma, including Alfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Custer, Dewey, Garfield, Grady, Grant, Kay, Kingfisher, Logan, Major, McClain, Noble, Oklahoma, Payne, Washita, Woods, and Woodward.
Over 3 million persons, including the Kansas City area, from Oklahoma to Missouri, are under Level 3 of 5 on SPC's 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale. Major cities in the south Plains into the mid-Mississippi Valley, such as Dallas and Oklahoma City stayed under Tornado Watches throughout sunset.
"This has all the makings," meteorologist Stephen Morgan with FOX Weather said.
Other major cities from the southern Plains to the mid-Mississippi Valley, including Dallas and Oklahoma City, were placed under Tornado Watches until after sunset.
FOX Weather Meteorologist Stephen Morgan said:
"Wednesday is when we're going to have the greatest possibility – North Texas all the way into the Missouri Ozarks, north into Kansas City... There's going to be a sector here that large hail, damaging winds, could be a significant threat."
As the front moves eastward, it will lose storm energy, turning this weather system into primarily a rain event. Cities such as Dallas, Little Rock, and Memphis are likely to experience a rainy Halloween, with the possibility of some thunderstorms.
This moisture is critical to many areas in the United States that are experiencing drought and dangerous fire weather at this time. Parts of Kansas and Oklahoma are under Fire Weather Warnings this week as critical fire conditions prevail with strong winds and tinder-dry fuels.
Past Tornadoes that have rocked Oklahoma
According to the Storm Prediction Center, tornado activity in Oklahoma is usually at its peak in April and May. The state usually experiences 34 tornadoes in May and 13 in April.
On the other hand, Kansas averages 12 tornadoes in April, 37 in May; while Texas averages 25 in April and 38 in May.
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There were 74 tornadoes reported by the National Weather Service last year in Oklahoma. Twenty-eight had wind speeds between 86 and 110 mph, with most classified as EF1s.
In addition, 22 were rated as EF0, having winds in the range of 65 to 85 mph; eight were classified as EF2, having winds ranging from 111 to 135 mph; and two were rated as EF3, having winds ranging between 136 to 165 mph. Furthermore, there were 14 that had no rating.
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