Tornado Touches Down in Enid, Okla.

April 27, 2009

Search and rescue crews went door to door to check on residents in the northern part of Enid, Okla., late Saturday after an apparent tornado touched down, authorities said.

There were no reports of serious injuries with the storm, which ripped off roofs, tipped over trailers and downed power lines after touching down around 10 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued two tornado warnings – one at 9:42 p.m. and the other at 10:13 p.m.

Another tornado was reported near the neighboring community of Kremlin about 10:45 p.m. and several hours later, a large tornado was reported in the same area by television weather spotters, the weather service said.

“We had a tornado that did some damage to the expo center and extensive damage in north Enid,” said Mike Honigsberg, emergency management director for Enid and Garfield County.

The roof of the Garfield County Expo Center was damaged and cars and trailers parked there for a home show were battered, said Rochelle Honigsberg, Honigsberg’s wife and deputy emergency management director. Television footage of the storm showed lumber and insulation littering the area.

“There’s a trailer park out there in north Enid that’s been hit,” Rochelle Honigsberg said. “We haven’t gotten any reports of serious injuries. I think there was maybe somebody who was thrown into a seizure – I’m sure just from the excitement of what happened.”

She said officials would have a better idea of how much damage was done in the morning.

“It’s too dark to tell. All the power’s gone out,” Rochelle Honigsberg said.

According to the Oklahoma Gas and Electric Web site, more than 1,600 customers were without power in Enid late Saturday.

The storm was one of several that pounded western and northern Oklahoma on Saturday, which forecasters expected to be the beginning of a prolonged stormy period for the state