Tornadoes yesterday slammed Oklahoma City and its suburbs for the second time in 10 days, injuring 50 people and killing five, authorities said.
Among those killed were a mother and baby near Union City and another person at El Reno, the first town hit by the storm, said a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner.
The broad storm hit during the evening rush hour, causing mayhem on Interstate 40, a major artery connecting suburbs east and west of Oklahoma City. The tornado dropped so much rain that streets were flooded to a depth of four feet.
Farther south, a severe storm with winds approaching 80 mph rolled into Moore, where a top-of-the-scale tornado killed 24 on May 20 and leveled much of the town.
“I’m in a car running from the tornado,” said Amy Sharp, who the previous week pulled her fourth-grade daughter from school prior to the monster storm.
“This storm had everything you could handle: tornadoes, hail, lightning, heavy rain, people clogging the highways,” said Rick Smith, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service at Norman.
The region was fortunate because the storm touched down mostly in rural areas and missed central Oklahoma City.
“It’s not even close to anything like what we had last week,” Smith said.
Violent weather also ripped through the St. Louis area, tearing part of the roof off a casino.