NWS preliminary reports: More than a dozen tornadoes touch down across Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. – Since Monday, more than a dozen tornadoes have touched down across the state, according to the National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center. Heavy rain and thunderstorms kicked off the severe weather in the state on Monday before the storms turned tornadic. Around 3:20 p.m. Monday, a tornado was seen touching down to the north of Piedmont, near Okarche.  The storm appeared to touch down by a wind turbine farm before the wall cloud dissipated.

A short time later, the storm near Crescent in Logan County caused intermittent tornado touch downs in fields and open farmland.

Residents in Perry and Orlando reported some wind damage to trees and property because of the storms.

At one point, two tornadoes could be seen touching the ground at the same time in Logan County.

Around that same time, a large tornado moved just south of the town of Mangum.

Initial reports indicate that the tornado had winds up to 212 miles per hour, making it an EF-4 or EF-5 tornado. A large debris cloud could be seen with the Mangum tornado as it moved through open fields. It caused some damage to homes and trees, but it missed the heart of the community.

After the sun set, the severe weather continued as heavy rain and flooding wreaked havoc on some roads. In the early morning hours, tornado warnings were issued for storms in Oklahoma and Cleveland counties. Those storms eventually moved into Pottawatomie County. Several homes and trees were damaged in the town of Dale, just south of McLoud. According to the National Weather Service in Norman, officials conducted damage surveys on Tuesday. They say they found evidence of five tornadoes from Tuesday morning: EF-1 northeast of Norman, EF-0 northeast of Norman, EF-0 near Stanely Draper Lake, EF-1 near Dale and EF-0 southeast of Meeker.

Weather officials say they are still investigating other tornadoes from Monday and Tuesday, but preliminary reports show a total of at least 15 across the state. The number will likely climb in the coming days after damage surveys and further analysis. Flooding has taken a toll on Oklahoma communities due to the storms. At least one person died after driving around a high water sign and into floodwater in Payne County.