OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Evacuations were ordered Saturday in Elk City after torrential rain forced the closure of part of an interstate highway and threatened to flood homes.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for parts of Beckham County and other western Oklahoma counties until 5:15 p.m. Forecasters said 3 to 6 inches of rain has fallen on the area, causing extensive flooding. Additional rainfall amounts of up to 3 inches are possible Saturday afternoon, forecasters said.
Elk City firefighter L.J. Geist said 4.5 inches of rain had fallen on the area that was already saturated by rainfall earlier in the week.
“We’ve had to evacuate whole neighborhoods and RV parks,” Geist said. “It’s raining again. It’s just wave after wave coming in. It’s getting pretty bad around here.”
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said heavy rainfall had flooded a portion of Interstate 40 around Foss near the border between Custer and Washita counties, forcing authorities to reroute both eastbound and westbound traffic until the highway was reopened about 5:40 p.m. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said flooding had also closed other roads in the region.
The flash flood emergency included Elk City and the nearby communities of Canute and Hammon.
Forecasters issued a tornado warning for northwestern Grady County in central Oklahoma shortly after 5 p.m. after a confirmed tornado was sighted west of Pocasset moving northeast at 20 mph. There were no immediate reports of damage.
Another tornado was sighted north of Sulphur in southern Oklahoma about 6 p.m., prompting additional warnings for parts of Murray, Pontotoc and Garvin counties. A tornado watch was in effect for parts of southwestern and central Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
A flash flood warning was issued for Beckham, Roger Mills, Washita and Custer counties in western Oklahoma, where forecasters said automated rain gauges indicated a thunderstorm was producing heavy rainfall across the region. Additional warnings were issued for Noble and Garfield counties in northern Oklahoma.
Forecasters urged residents not to travel unless they are fleeing an area that was subject to flooding or was covered by an evacuation order.
A flash flood watch is in effect across much of the rest of Oklahoma through Monday morning as a slow moving storm system is forecast to bring several rounds of heavy rainfall to the state through the long Memorial Day weekend.
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