OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A tornado grazed Oklahoma City and its suburbs Wednesday, threatening rush-hour drivers and prompting schools to hold children in safe rooms until the danger passed.
Forecasters declared a tornado emergency for Moore, where 24 people died in a storm two years ago, but Wednesday’s storm lacked the same punch as the 2013 storm. No injuries were reported; television video showed brick facades off some buildings but no widespread destruction.
The Storm Prediction Center had warned that severe storms could hit much of Tornado Alley on Wednesday. Twisters were also reported north of Wichita, Kansas, and along the Kansas-Nebraska border.
Will Rogers World Airport sent several hundred people to a tunnel connecting the terminal with a parking garage as the storm approached. Passengers had to be re-screened because the safety area was outside the security zone, said spokeswoman Karen Carney. Some flights landed as the storm approached, but luggage service was delayed.
National Weather Service meteorologist Angela Pfannkuch said the rural town of Roseland, Nebraska, near Grand Island, was hit at 4:22 p.m. Wednesday. At least 10 to 15 homes in and around the town were damaged, but no injuries had been reported by 6 p.m.