Tornadoes are reported across the Plains amid widespread severe weather threat

At least two tornadoes spun through eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas on Friday, part of a system of severe weather that threatened to bring large hail, damaging winds and flash flooding from the southern Plains to the Southeast through the weekend.

One tornado was confirmed in Vian, Oklahoma, a small town of more than 1,300 people, said Michael Bowlan, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. Another was confirmed to have swept near the cities of Alma and Van Buren in western Arkansas, he said.

About 46 homes were severely damaged or destroyed after the tornado carved its way through Van Buren, a city of more than 24,000 residents near the Oklahoma state line, said Travis Cooper, an emergency management director in Sebastian County, Arkansas, who was assisting with the response. There were power outages and downed trees, he said.

There were no injuries, Cooper said. Residents in the area usually use mobile apps to track tornado threats, and evacuate or take shelter in inner rooms as needed, he said.

In Oklahoma, police in Vian said the tornado left a path of debris through the south side of the town. Power outages were reported from Vian to Muldrow, about 25 miles to the east.

Forecasters were working to confirm other possible tornadoes in Arkansas, Bowlan said. In Oklahoma, forecasters were scrutinizing radar data to confirm whether a tornado had touched down west of Guthrie.

“There was definitely some damage,” said Vivek Mahale, a meteorologist at the weather service.

Oklahoma was expected to receive some of the highest rainfall totals.

“Centered over central and northern Oklahoma, we’re predicting over 3 inches widespread and then locally higher amounts through Saturday night,” said Jennifer Tate, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center. “But even after that, there could be more repeated rounds through the weekend,” she added.

Reported tornadoes also struck northwest Texas on Thursday, damaging homes and power lines but missing the city of Lubbock, which remained under a severe thunderstorm and flash flood warning late into the evening.

Tornadoes touched down in several towns, damaging homes in rural communities and causing at least three injuries, said Cole Kirkland, the Hockley County emergency management coordinator.

Scores of homes were damaged by hail and wind in Hockley County, Kirkland said, and most of the county’s roads were flooded.

Severe thunderstorms are possible Friday across parts of Lubbock and portions of the Rolling Plains, a region of north-central Texas, with wind gusts up to 90 mph, softball-size hail, flooding and tornadoes, the weather service said.

The severe weather is being driven by a large and strong storm system moving eastward and interacting with a slow-moving weather front, stretching from the southern Plains through the Ohio Valley.

The front is expected to remain nearly stationary over the coming days, Tate said. As warm, moist air flows northward into the front, conditions will be favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms.

“That flow coming in from the Gulf, that can bring moisture and instability that are needed to produce those storms,” she said.

The risk of severe storms will continue across the mid-Atlantic, the Southeast and the Southern Plains into the weekend. On Saturday, the threat will be focused over the Southeast, with the highest risk over northern Mississippi and northern Alabama, where clusters of thunderstorms could kick up powerful, damaging winds. There will also be a low threat of tornadoes.

On Sunday, the highest area of risk shifts into the southern Plains, especially the Texas Panhandle into western-north Texas, where thunderstorms could deliver strong winds and large hail, with a moderate risk for tornadoes.

“I would say the best bet for tornadoes on Sunday would be the Texas Panhandle,” said Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.

The setup also brings a risk of flash flooding, especially in areas already saturated from recent rainfall, where repeated rounds of storms are expected.

“With the storms being slow-moving, then there can be multiple rounds of storms affecting the same areas,” Tate said. “It makes the soils pretty wet, and then you get another round, and that can lead to more flooding.”

Flash flood risks will also linger, especially across southeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, northern Mississippi and western Tennessee.

A gradual improvement in conditions is expected early next week, although some storm activity may still continue in the region.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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