Tornado warning issued for parts of Oklahoma amid severe storms as heat scorches South Texas

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Scattered severe storms continued in Oklahoma and forecasters issued a tornado warning for some parts of the state Saturday evening as some daytime heat records were broken in South Texas and people warned of triple-digit temperatures during the long holiday weekend.

The National Weather Service office in Norman said via social platform X that the warning was in effect for northern Noble counties and far southern Kay, an area north of Oklahoma City.

“If you are in the path of this storm, take cover now!” it said.

Previously, the office compared Saturday’s conditions to “ a gasoline-soaked pile of brushes.” Forecasters say any storms that form could explode with large hail, dangerous wind gusts and tornadoes.

“There is a small chance that most matches will be blind and we will only see a few storms today. Still, that’s not a game I would want to play in. It only takes one storm to have an impact,” the organization said on Facebook.

Excessive heat, especially in May, was the danger in South Texas, where the heat index was expected to approach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) in some spots over the weekend. Actual temperatures will be lower, although still in the triple digits, but the humidity will make it feel much hotter.

The region is at the northern end of a heat dome that stretches from Mexico to South America, National Weather Service meteorologist Zack Taylor said.

Sunday looks like the warmest day with record highs forecast for late May for Austin, Brownsville, Dallas and San Antonio, Taylor said.

Brownsville and Harlingen near the Texas-Mexico border already set new records Saturday for the calendar date of May 25 — 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) and 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), respectively, according to the weather service.

Red Flag fire warnings were also in effect in West Texas, all of New Mexico and parts of Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado. Humidity was very low, less than 10%, and wind gusts of up to 97 km per hour were recorded.

“We have very dry air, warm temperatures and high winds, creating a high fire danger over a large area… which could lead to rapidly spreading or out-of-control fires,” Taylor said.

Meanwhile, several inches of snow fell Friday into early Saturday in Rolla, North Dakota, about 10 miles from the Canadian border.

April and May were a busy month for tornadoes, especially in the Midwest. Climate change increases the severity of storms around the world.

In April the United States saw second highest number of tornadoes officially. According to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, the country is already 25% ahead of the average number of twisters so far for 2024.

Iowa was hit hard by a deadly tornado this week destroyed Groenveld. And other storms brought flooding and wind damage elsewhere in the state.

The storm system that caused the severe weather was expected to move east as the Memorial Day weekend continued, with rain that could delay Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 auto race in Indiana and more severe storms in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky.

The risk of severe weather will move to North Carolina and Virginia on Monday, forecasters said.