Tornadoes Touch Down in Oklahoma, Arkansas

At least two tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma and another west of Oden, Arkansas Thursday as a powerful storm system moved through the middle of the country. At least nine injuries were reported.

The National Weather Service reported two tornadoes on the ground Thursday near Perkins and Ripley in north central Oklahoma and another west of Oden, Ark.

Seven people were injured in Arkansas. Two other injuries were attributed to lightning strikes in that state. Lightning was also believed to have started a fire at a residential complex in northwestern Indiana.

Emergency Management spokesman Tommy Jackson in Arkansas said first responders were having trouble reaching a destroyed home where one person was hurt in a tornado because trees blocked the road.

Thursday’s tornadoes were much less dangerous than the EF5 storm that struck Moore, Okla., on May 20.

This spring’s tornado season got off to a late start, with unusually cool weather keeping funnel clouds at bay until mid-May. The season usually starts in March and then ramps up for the next couple of months.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the May 31st, 2013 edition of Hamodia.