July 10, 2023
By News Director Jared Atha
Multiple storms with heavy rainfall and dangerously high winds ravished western Oklahoma over the weekend that left downed trees and trees limbs in its wake in multiple cities in the area.
It appears that the I-40 trio of Elk City, Clinton, and Weatherford received the most damage, with Weatherford seeing the most structure damage after Sunday morning’s storm. The Weatherford Church of Christ had sustained major roof damage that left a hole, and other homes in Weatherford sustained damage as well.
In Clinton, Friday night’s storm tore back pieces of the Homeland store’s roof as well as a local auto parts store. The communications tower at Clinton City Hall was also blown down due to the straight line winds. As a result, the city’s 911 service was knocked out briefly Friday night but was restored about an hour later.
Elk City’s damage seems to be limited mostly to downed trees and tree limbs, however the Elk City Walmart did suffer damage from Sunday morning’s storms. The city has announced that residents can take tree limbs to the city landfill free of charge now through Saturday. Officials ask that if a resident is elderly or physically unable to move trees to ask for assistance.
Beckham County Sheriff Derek Manning says fortunately there have been no reports of injuries from the two storms.
Foss Lake State Park took a hit Friday night too.
According to Park Manager Barry Hardaway a popular campground will be closed for at least a month after sustaining heavy tree damage.
Hardaway says the park’s main boat ramp will need repairs after being damaged, and said even the park’s headquarters was damaged during Friday night’s storm.
Other towns in the area such as Woodward and Shattuck also have reported structure damage after the weekend storms.
So how bad were the winds?
According to the Oklahoma Mesonet, wind gusts reported during Friday night’s storms had Elk City taking on a 68mph gust, and Altus receiving a 61mph wind gust. The town of Beaver in the panhandle recorded an 83mph wind gust during Friday night’s storms.
Sunday morning’s storms had Elk City’s mesonet site report a 62mph wind gust while Weatherford had a 59mph wind gust at it’s site.
Unfortunately more storms are in the forecast this week with a 30% chance of showers and storms – with damaging winds – predicted for tonight, and more storm chances predicted for the end of the week, going into the weekend.
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