Extreme heat, more storms threaten an already battered Oklahoma
Oklahoma was battered by violent storms that killed at least two people and left thousands without electricity. On Wednesday, Oklahoma experienced more relentless heat and severe storms as crews worked furiously to restore power to the hard-hit northeastern part of the state.
Ambulance crews in the Tulsa area struggled to keep up with calls related to the storm and power outages, said Adam Paluka, a spokesman for the Emergency Medical Services Authority in Tulsa.
“We had our highest volume day in our history,” said Mr Paluka. “This chaos is our reality right now.” He said authority crews responded to 487 calls, compared to the average of 335 on a Tuesday in June. Many of the calls were related to heat exhaustion or to people getting sick because they had no power for medical equipment at home.
Storms, possibly bringing hail, were expected to continue to batter Tulsa and other parts of the state Wednesday and for the next few days. But officials were more concerned about the continued heat, which is expected to hit triple digits by the weekend.
Highway and utility companies were racing to repair power lines and repair the significant damage done by storms last weekend, whose hurricane-force winds toppled trees and scattered debris that left some roads unusable. One tornado was recorded in the Oologah area.
More than 100,000 customers in Oklahoma were still there without force Wednesday morning, mostly near Tulsa, and many of them would be off duty for several more days, officials said.
At least two people died as a result of the storms, in Creek County and McCurtain County, according to medical examiner records.
Oklahoma’s National Weather Service said Wednesday more dangerous storms and possible hail were on the way as a series of storms moved in from Kansas. “As this line moves through northern and central Oklahoma,” the agency said on Twitter, “large hail and winds of 60-80 mph could accompany the strongest storms.”
Extreme heat eased slightly in Tulsa on Wednesday, to a more normal temperature of 90 degrees, with overnight lows in the 70s. A heat advisory remained in effect for the region, as the combination of heat and humidity was expected to create dangerous conditions for people without electricity, according to forecasters from the weather service Tulsa issued a warning Wednesday morning.
The worst of the heat moved into western and southern Texas on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as parts of New Mexico, where high temperatures were expected to climb into the triple digits and threaten to break daily records in places like Abilene, Austin, Odessa and San Angelo in Texas.
Weather forecasters also watched the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles for the possibility of more severe thunderstorms. “Those storms can produce hail the size of baseballs,” said Forrest Mitchell, a forecaster with the agency.
Temperatures could exceed 100 degrees in the coming days, especially in southern Oklahoma, Mitchell said. Sunday, Wichita Falls, Texas, could hit 107 degrees.
The chaotic weather was unusual for this time of year, with summer not starting until Wednesday.
In Central Oklahoma, which includes Oklahoma City, the 30-year norm for high average temperatures hovered in the high 80s. “We’re already seeing readings in the mid-90s,” said Mr. Mitchell. “It’s not common, but it’s happened in recent years.”
The prolonged heat wave is the result of a high-pressure ridge in the atmosphere, the kind of condition typically responsible for prolonged heat waves.
“Temperature-wise, there really is no end in sight to the excessive heat that has hit southern and western Texas/southeast New Mexico in particular,” forecasters with the the weather forecast center said.
The long-term prognosis didn’t look any better. The current weather pattern could continue through the first week of July, with above-average heat during the day and little recovery at night, the center said.