Severe storms bring flooding, tornadoes to parts of the state
BRYAN COUNTY, Okla. – Spring has arrived in Oklahoma, bringing severe storms and wet weather to the state.
The state’s first official tornado of 2019 touched down in Shattuck on April 17. The twister, which was rated an EF-1, damaged homes, sheds, trees and fences.
However, it wouldn’t be the state’s last.
On April 30, the National Weather Service determined that 15 tornadoes touched down across the state.
According to KXII, Bryan County Emergency Manager James Dalton confirms that one person died when a tornado touched down west of Bokchito.
Flooding was widespread in communities across Oklahoma as the thunderstorms dropped several inches of rain in just a few hours.
As a result, Oklahoma received 4.75 inches of rain on average in April, which is nearly 1.5 inches above normal. That makes this as the 22nd wettest April since records began in 1895. It was a different story in the Panhandle, where it was 0.67 inches below normal, marking the 44th driest April on record.
The average temperature was 1.1 degree above normal, ranking as the 45th warmest April on record.
As for May, experts believe Oklahoma will see above normal rainfall across the entire state.