This is what Kingfisher Creek at Kingfisher, Oklahoma normally looks like, maybe it's better said, "What it used to look like."
Facts about Kingfisher, Oklahoma (click here)
The Oklahoman
http://newsok.com/
Tourists flee Jamaica, Hurricane Dean; Texas, Mexico start evacuations
By Howard Campbell
Associated Press Writer
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Jamaicans headed inland and tourists fled the country as Hurricane Dean headed for a direct hit on the island Sunday after a deadly and destructive march across the eastern Caribbean. Coastal Texas and Mexico began evacuations, with many Texans hoping to avoid the disastrous last-minute exodus before Hurricane Rita in 2005.
Jamaica converted schools, churches and the indoor national sports arena into shelters and authorities urged people to take cover from a storm that could rake the country with winds of 145 mph and dump up to 20 inches of rain.
"It's going to be very, very serious," said Lawrence Samuel as he shopped for emergency groceries while his wife and son went to the hardware store for plywood and other supplies.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the first hurricane of the Atlantic season was projected to reach the most dangerous hurricane classification, Category 5, with winds of 160 mph before crashing into the Mexican coastline near Cancun on Monday night or Tuesday. The Mexican mainland or Texas could be hit later.
http://newsok.com/article/3106703
Weather causes road closures
By Bryan Dean
Staff Writer
Flooding caused authorities to close several major roads in Oklahoma County and across the state.
Interstate 40 was closed in both directions near El Reno for six hours, Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers said. It re-opened about 9:45 a.m.
Other road closures reported by the Oklahoma Transportation Department as of 8 a.m. were:
•SH 66, between Oklahoma Cit y and El Reno.
•SH 4 (Mustang area), north and south of I-40
•SH 74, north of the Kilpatrick Turnpike to the Logan County line
The Oklahoma County sheriff's office reported the following street closures:
•Highway 74 (Portland) between NW 150 to 164
http://newsok.com/article/3106699
Storms knock out power
By Bryan Dean
Staff Writer
About 20,000 OG&E customers, most in the Oklahoma City metro area, were without power Sunday morning as the remnants of Tropical Erin moved through the state.
In Oklahoma City about 9,600 people were without power as of 10:30 a.m. according to the OG&E Web site.
About 2,200 people were without power in Norman, and about 1,900 were without power in El Reno.
Other metro-area outages were reported in Arcadia, Bethany, Choctaw, Del City, Edmond, Forest Park, Guthrie, Harrah, Jones, Midwest City, Moore, Nicoma Park, Okarche, Shawnee, Spencer, The Village, Warr Acres and Yukon.
Statewide, outages were also reported in Canton, Davenport, Drumright, Earlsboro, Maude and Seminole.
http://newsok.com/article/3106700
Possible tornadoes hit parts of state
Chad Previch and Bryan Dean
Staff Writers
Sunday morning's storms brought more than just heavy rain, with reports of tornadoes and heavy wind, injuring two people in Watonga and causing damage across western and central Oklahoma.
Michaelann Ooten, spokeswoman for the state emergency management department, said two people, whose names were not released, were treated for non-life threatening injuries in Watonga after straight line winds or a possible tornado destroyed their home.
The National Weather Service has not yet confirmed any tornadoes although twister-like damage has been reported. Radar indicated a tornado six miles south of Minco, meteorologist John Pike said.
He said Oklahoma benefited from a relatively dry August.
"That allowed runoff to occur a little bit better but there has been a lot of rain,” he said.
http://newsok.com/article/3106698
Drowning reports - one was a woman trapped in her basement. There is also a huge oil spill. The panoramic views of the area are astounding. The videos from the area are listed here.
http://www.newsok.com/video/brightcove/?bctid=1137835102&bclid=1111621425
continued...
