STORMY SKIES

14 Dead in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas After Freak Tornadoes Sweep Region

The storms upended 18-wheelers and flattened houses as they tore through southern plains states.

Monster tornadoes and giant hail pummeled parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas overnight Saturday, upending semi trucks and crushing homes in a freak weather incident that’s left at least 14 people dead. In Texas, seven people died in Cooke County near the Oklahoma border, sheriff Ray Sappington told NBC News, including two children ages 2 and 5. Authorities believe 60 to 80 more people are trapped in a collapsed gas station. In Oklahoma, two people were killed in Mayes County near Tulsa, the county’s deputy director of emergency management said, and the weather service recorded multiple tornadoes and thick hail measuring two inches in diameter. In Arkansas, five people were killed and multiple others were injured because of the freak storms, officials said. The storms are expected to continue east on Sunday through the midwest and the Ohio Valley, with a chance of tornadoes, large hail, and flash flooding although strong winds are most expected. Officials also expect the Indianapolis 500 to be delayed—fans were told to evacuate because of the weather.