Residents woke to downed trees, missing fences and damaged homes and vehicles after powerful storms battered the Oklahoma metropolitan area overnight.
The storm that swept through the metro on Friday, April 3, affected areas from Will Rogers International Airport to Shawnee.
Southwest of Oklahoma City, Will Rogers International Airport briefly lost power due to the storm.
Airport officials confirmed to The Oklahoman that generators at the airport have been activated and power has been restored, but staff are unsure when normal power will be fully restored. The airport suffered no damage from the storm, according to officials.
However, one Oklahoma City Community College building was damaged. Homeowners on Southwest 81st and 82nd streets, between South Villa Avenue and South Country Club Avenue, woke up to find missing fence panels, downed trees and more.
On April 4, Thang Huynh picked up a door from his son’s house that had been blown down by the severe storm that swept through the area on April 3.
“It’s just a boom,” said homeowner Wayne Fischer, who lives on the corner of Southwest 81st Street and South Country Club Boulevard in Oklahoma City. “The neighbor, all his stuff came out into our yard, broke one of the bedroom windows and messed up our roof a little bit.”
Fisher, who had no shelter, said he heard debris flying. He said his neighbor recently built a storage shed that was completely destroyed by the storm.
“They just built a little workshop there and now it’s completely gone and I don’t know where it is,” he said.
Fisher’s neighbor Thang Huynh confirmed that the shed he was using while renovating his son’s property was damaged, along with the fence and several adjacent fences.
Debris was scattered for several blocks, and there was evidence that strong winds had moved large objects: a trampoline wrapped around a utility pole, a wooden play structure moved against a fence, and Huynh said a pickup truck in his backyard was facing a different direction than where he parked it.
“That toy is from the neighbor’s yard,” Arturo Rodriguez said, pointing to the play structure as he walked around his home.
Rodriguez’s daughter and grandmother were home alone during the storm while he and his wife were out. Rodriguez said there are some leaks in the roof and broken windows, gutters and fences that need to be repaired, but everyone is safe. That’s important because when the alarm goes off, his family can’t reach the home’s underground shelter.
“They tried to go to the shelter, but the rain came too fast and they couldn’t go because [my grandmother] is old. She was worried she would fall before she entered the shelter,” Rodriguez said.
Near the entrance to the shelter was a large branch from a nearby tree, and someone else’s gutter swung from what was left of the tree. But it’s worth noting that Rodriguez said the power lines remained live, and while the family did briefly lose power Friday night, OG&E quickly restored it.
In Shawnee, damage occurred in areas of town north of Interstate 40, including Westech Road and Oklahoma Highway 18, where the roof of a local EZ Mart was blown off. The canopy struck a nearby utility pole, which OG&E employees were repairing.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a radar tornado struck the area on Friday, but damage assessment was not complete and could not provide a rating.
Written by: Josh Kelly, Staff Writer
This article originally appeared in Oklahoma: In southwestern Oklahoma, Shawnee residents begin cleaning up after overnight storm
