More severe weather is expected Monday as Oklahoma assesses damage from tornado-producing storms that injured 11 people

CNN
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More severe weather is expected across the Southern Plains on Monday as Oklahomans watch the destruction from tornado storms that injured at least 11 people and leveled homes over the weekend.

Severe thunderstorms will continue to impact the Southern Plains overnight and will increase again Monday across northern Texas, western Arkansas, southwest Missouri and most of Oklahoma. Areas incl Oklahoma City could see more twisters.

While the persistent storms will eventually weaken Monday morning, severe weather is expected to increase in parts of the region throughout the day and could last into the evening – threatening many of the same areas already hit by tornadoes and flooding over the weekend .

“Isolated severe thunderstorms associated with tornadoes, large hail and wind damage are likely from the Southern Plains northeast into the Ozarks and mid-Mississippi Valley Monday and Monday evening,” the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) warned. “Some of the tornadoes could be strong.”

A reduced threat of severe storms will spread from central and east Texas to western Illinois – including the cities of Dallas, Houston, Austin and St. Louis – and threaten damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes, the SPC said.

Heavy rain could also flood roads. More than 7 million people are under flood watches in northern Texas, most of Oklahoma, southeastern Kansas, northwestern Arkansas and southern Missouri.

At least five tornadoes, combined with severe flooding from heavy rains, ripped through parts of Oklahoma from Saturday to Sunday, destroying homes and other buildings.

Video from CNN affiliate KOCO shows the damage, with cars overturned and entire homes destroyed. The storms toppled telephone poles and snapped trees in half. Debris is scattered across affected areas, including large pieces of wood and metal from destroyed buildings.

Nearly 40 structures were destroyed in the Oklahoma City area, the Oklahoma City Fire Department said in a Facebook post. Another 43 buildings were severely damaged, while 54 had minor damage

At least eleven people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, the OCFD said Sunday evening. Several others suffered minor injuries but refused to seek medical help.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has issued an emergency declaration for six counties. Officials are working to ensure polling places across the state have power ahead of Tuesday's presidential election, Stitt said in a news conference Sunday.

“We will inform the public if there are issues with polling places there and redirect people if necessary,” the governor said. According to PowerOutage.US, more than 16,000 electricity customers in Oklahoma and Texas were still without power as of Sunday evening.

Stitt warned that potentially life-threatening conditions will spread across the state. “Utility restoration is underway as conditions allow, and the state is working closely with local partners to ensure Oklahomans have what they need,” he said in a post on X.

The five tornadoes the National Weather Service has confirmed so far include two that are believed to have been powerful EF-3 twisters, one in Harrah and one near Sooner Road in Cleveland and Oklahoma counties. Tornado strength is measured using the Enhanced Fujita Scale or EF Scale, which rates tornadoes from EF-0 to EF-5 based on estimated wind speeds and associated damage.

Most tornadoes occurred in the dark hours of the night, and residents woke up to splintered buildings and trails of debris.

Research shows that nighttime tornadoes are more than twice as deadly as daytime ones because nighttime tornadoes are difficult to spot in the dark and those sleeping may not know danger is imminent.