Thunderstorm Wind in Adair County, Oklahoma

Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs.

Severe thunderstorms developed over the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, southwestern Kansas, and southeastern Colorado during the afternoon of the 17th, along and ahead of a cold front as a strong upper level disturbance translated into the Southern Plains. These storms organized into a surging line of severe thunderstorms as they moved east across northern Oklahoma, reaching eastern Oklahoma during the late evening. Moderately strong instability was in place ahead of the storms, and the wind fields aloft, along with the deep-layer and low-level wind shear, became strong as the upper level disturbance approached from the west. The line of thunderstorms produced widespread wind damage across eastern Oklahoma, with wind gusts in excess of 100 mph at times. Widespread damage to the utility infrastructure occurred, especially throughout counties in northeastern Oklahoma, with nearly a million people without power during the peak of the storm. Some of these outages lasted more than a week. Many trees were blown down, and widespread damage to homes and businesses occurred. A tree fell onto a manufactured home near Oilton in Creek County, killing one of the occupants and injuring three others. Three tornadoes also occurred across portions of northeastern Oklahoma, each forming on the leading edge of the squall line.

Other severe thunderstorms developed during the late evening hours of the 17th near a stationary front that stretched across northern Texas and southern Oklahoma. These storms produced damaging wind across portions of southeastern Oklahoma.