| CNN | - |
(CNN)
-- People in the central United States suffered through more severe
weather Thursday -- in the form of torrential rain, golf-ball-size hail
and damaging winds, including a few reported tornadoes -- and braced for
even more storms.
Arkansas and Oklahoma battered by severe weather
updated 7:30 PM EDT, Thu May 30, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: 9 are injured in Arkansas -- including 2 struck by lightning -- an official says
- At one point, tornado watches and warnings extended from Texas to Michigan
- Tornadoes are reported north of Oklahoma City as well as Arkansas
- There could be even more severe weather on Friday, the weather service notes
Are you there? Send photos, videos of the storm and its aftermath, but only if you're in a safe place.
(CNN) -- People in the central United States
suffered through more severe weather Thursday -- in the form of
torrential rain, golf-ball-size hail and damaging winds, including a few
reported tornadoes -- and braced for even more storms.
Tornado warnings were
issued at one point or another Thursday afternoon for portions of
Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Just 10 days ago,
Oklahoma was in the cross hairs of a powerful tornado that left 24 dead.
Such warnings go out when
witnesses or radar indicate a tornado. The National Weather Service, in
fact, noted there were reports of tornadoes in at least six communities
in western Arkansas -- as far west as Polk, as far south as Garland
County, and as far north as Oden.
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Nine people statewide
suffered injuries -- four minor ones in Oden, three in Clark County and
two hurt by a lightning strike in Benton County -- state emergency
management spokesman Tommy Jackson told CNN. No details were immediately
available on the conditions of any of those injured.
Two homes were destroyed
in the small community of Oden, about 50 miles west of Hot Springs,
according to Jackson. The weather service noted, too, that power lines
were knocked down and Highway 88 was blocked at one point.
Three houses were
reportedly damaged and three people were injured, around the small Clark
County town of Amity, according to the same agency.
There was also reported
tornadoes in north-central Oklahoma -- including in and around Perkins
and Ripley, which is about 10 miles east.
Shortly after 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET), the National Weather Service tweeted that a tornado "may be developing ... south of Perkins," which is about 50 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. Minutes later, a new message stated there had been a "brief tornado" reported that had "dissipated."
The threat, and impact, of severe weather extended well beyond Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Tornado watches -- which
means conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form, though one hasn't
necessarily touched down -- at one point extended through an
eight-state stretch extending from Texas north to Michigan.
With or without confirmed funnel clouds, these storms packed a wallop. The weather service's Tulsa office,
for instance, noted one line of thunderstorms could also pack 70-mph
wind gusts. Oklahoma weather experts also noted reports of
half-dollar-size hail.
Flooding was the problem
in places like Coffeyville, Kansas, where police rescued people from 16
vehicles in a 1½-hour stretch on Thursday afternoon after they got
trapped due to intense flooding, fire department Capt. Wayne Joplin
said.
Water in the streets
went up to cars' headlights, if not higher, after "torrential rain" fell
on ground already saturated by storms the previous night. "The gutters
and our storm system couldn't handle it," the captain said.
"I've lived here since 1979, and I've never seen that much rain that quick," Joplin told CNN.
Even once night sets in Thursday, that doesn't mean everyone can breathe easy.
The weather service's
Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a moderate chance of severe
weather in parts of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas and Missouri on Friday.
The forecast is less dire Saturday, but on Sunday parts of the Northeast could be in danger.
The Storm Prediction
Center says there is a 30% or higher probability for severe
thunderstorms Sunday in parts of seven states, including the cities of
Scranton, Pennsylvania; Springfield, Massachusetts; and of the New York
cities of Syracuse, Albany and Elmira.
CNN's Carma Hassan and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
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