A tornado was confirmed near Ponca City, Oklahoma, on Friday evening and was moving east at 45 mph as forecasters warned residents to get to shelter immediately. The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for southeastern Kay County, including Kaw City and Kaw Lake, and said the situation was life-threatening.
The warning remained in effect until 7:45 PM CDT, with officials warning of destructive winds, dangerous flying debris and golf ball-sized hail. Homes, vehicles and trees were at risk, and mobile homes were especially vulnerable, prompting emergency officials to tell people in the storm’s path to use a storm shelter, a safe room or the lowest interior part of a sturdy building away from windows.
People outside, in a car or in a mobile home were told to find the nearest solid shelter and protect themselves from debris. Authorities repeated that a tornado was on the ground and urged everyone in the warning area to take cover now. The threat in and around ponca city landed as the Midwest and central United States were battered Friday by a wave of tornadoes, with twisters and widespread damage reported across Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Missouri.
For residents near Ponca City, the immediate answer was not whether the storm might turn dangerous. It already had, and the warning through 7:45 PM CDT was the window to get out of its way.