Three people, including a 12-year-old boy, died after severe weather struck Oklahoma on Saturday as part of a sprawling storm system that was bringing damaging winds and the threat of tornadoes to the South and Midwest on Sunday.
Wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour and pea-size hail swept through parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma on Sunday, and thunderstorms were expected across south-central Texas, posing a risk for travelers on the Easter holiday weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
In towns across Missouri and Arkansas, powerful winds damaged roofs and brought down power lines. Residents in those places spent Sunday afternoon under tornado watches and warnings, which persisted into the evening.
On Saturday night, one person was killed and another was injured after a tornado touched down in Spaulding, Okla., according to Hughes County Emergency Management. Two homes were destroyed, county officials said.
In Moore, Okla., which is about 11 miles south of Oklahoma City, a woman and a 12-year-old boy were found dead after a vehicle they were in became stranded in floodwaters. The vehicle was swept under a bridge, the Moore Police Department said.
Rescue workers responded to the stranded vehicle around 9 p.m. on Saturday and were able to rescue all but two people who were inside. The authorities first declared the two people missing, but they were later found dead, the authorities said.
“This was a historical weather event that impacted roads and resulted in dozens of high-water incidents across the city,” the Police Department said.
The severe storms were expected to move across Missouri through Sunday night and could produce hail the size of golf balls, winds up to 70 miles per hour and strong tornadoes, according to the Weather Service.
In Arkansas, storms were possible across much of the state, especially in the north. Large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes were possible into Sunday night.
The Weather Service warned that flooding could occur in much of Oklahoma on Sunday, and flood warnings, which mean a flood is occurring or imminent, were in place across the state.
Severe thunderstorms on Saturday led to at least one tornado in Texas and heavy rains, flooding and large hail in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
The storm system is moving at a slow pace, which may lead thunderstorms to repeatedly break out over the same regions, increasing the risk of flash flooding.
Severe storms could continue in the area beyond the weekend, forecasters said. Heavy rains could lead to flash flooding through Monday morning.
Precipitation levels are expected to remain above normal from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic through the end of April, according to the Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center’s outlook. This is particularly true for Northeast Texas, North Louisiana, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma and southern Missouri.
Sara Ruberg contributed reporting.
Amanda Holpuch covers breaking news and other topics.
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