Oklahoma City Tornado: Dangerous Twister Strikes Near State Capital

According to the Office of Missouri Governor's website:

JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Jay Nixon tonight declared a state of emergency in Missouri as a widespread severe weather system continued to move across the state, bringing heavy rain, hail, straight-line winds, flooding and radar-indicated tornadoes. This severe weather follows several days of heavy rain throughout much of the state, leading to flooding along many streams and rivers. The severe weather threat continues tonight in parts of Missouri, and is likely to continue tomorrow for much of the state.

"Much of Missouri is experiencing dangerous severe weather tonight, on the heels of several days of heavy rain," Gov. Nixon said. "I urge Missourians to closely monitor weather conditions, so they can take shelter or move to higher ground if needed. The risk of severe weather remains with us well into tomorrow. The state of Missouri will continue to work closely with local officials to help protect lives and property from these storms."

Read the full update here.

Click here to view what the night was like for local residents, based on 50 tweets in the OKC metro area from 7:52 p.m. to 9:43 p.m. local time.

During a phone call with Oklahoma's KFOR, Gov. Mary Fallin (R) was asked what message she would like to give to Oklahomans who may be feeling a bit fearful, given the repeated threat of tornadoes in recent days.

"It has been a hard couple of weeks," Fallin said, "but tell them it's going to be ok."

"We are resilient," Fallin continued. "We will go through and come through it on the other side. Just hang on, and tomorrow is a better day."

Gov. Mary Fallin told Oklahoma's KOKH Friday night that she was aware of news reports that the evening's violent storms had caused fatalities, including reports that a woman and her baby had been killed on I-40, but she said she could not confirm any fatalities at this time.

"I can't confirm any fatalities other than what I've also heard on the news," she said, noting that she had not yet been in touch with the medical examiner for an official report.

Fallin also said that Friday's storms will not help the ongoing recovery efforts in Moore, which was hit by an EF5 tornado on May 20.

"Well, it's not helpful. They were just beginning to clean up the debris," Fallin said. "Hopefully they were able to get out the things they needed to get out, but this rain will not help with debris removal."

Gov. Mary Fallin (R) spoke to Oklahoma's KWTV Friday evening and said that "we're going to have our hands full for a while."

She said that she did not yet know the extent of the damage from Friday's storms or whether the state would need additional resources to help with the recovery efforts. "We're still in the active stage of the storm itself," Fallin said.

While the storms generated high winds and hail across the region, Fallin said that the situation did not appear to be as serious as when an EF5 tornado hit Moore, Okla. earlier this month.

"We're not getting calls from people and communities that we had tremendous damage like we had in Moore," Fallin told KWTV.

Parts of Oklahoma City experience extreme flooding after multiple tornadoes passed through Central Okla. on Friday May 31, 2013 in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford)

As tornadoes swept through the Oklahoma City area on Friday evening, storm chasers in cars tracked their movements, relaying updates and video to a number of news outlets.

But getting close to violent storms is inherently risky, and the storm chasers with The Weather Channel's Tornado Hunt team had a very close call:

Meteorologist Mike Bettes was chasing the monster rain-wrapped tornado near El Reno, Okla. when he says the storm picked up the heavy chase SUV and threw it an estimated 200 yards.

Bettes and his team members are alive, but they do have minor injuries.

"I saw my life flash before my eyes," Bettes said in a live phone interview as soon as he established phone connection after the incident. He says the airbags deployed and everyone had their seat belts on.

Seth Decker, a storm chaser with TVN Weather took a photo that shows how far off the road the Tornado Hunt vehicle was thrown:

Storm chaser Sean Schofer also tweeted a photo of the wrecked SUV:

An overturned semitrailer rests on its side on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40, just east of El Reno, Okla., after a reported tornado touched down, Friday, May 31, 2013. (AP Photo/The Omaha World-Herald, Chris Machian)

A tornado touches down near El Reno, Okla., Friday, May 31, 2013, causing damage to structures and injuring travelers on Interstate 40. I-40 has been closed after severe weather rolled through the area. (AP Photo/The Omaha World-Herald, Chris Machian)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/oklahoma-city-tornado_n_3369308.html

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