Texas Tornado Kills At Least 5; Two Die In Oklahoma Twister

   

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Deadly tornadoes swept through parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas late Saturday night into early Sunday morning causing extensive damage and power outages.

A tornado crossed into northern Denton County in Texas late Saturday and overturned tractor-trailer trucks, stopping traffic on Interstate 35.

Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington told The Weather Channel 60 to 80 people were injured at the AP Travel Center alongside I-35.

The tornado was confirmed near Valley View, about 50 miles north of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, where it tore apart houses and businesses, flipped over mobile homes and knocked down power lines trees throughout the area.

At least five deaths were confirmed there according to Sheriff Sappington. He told The Weather Channel he expects the death toll to rise.

At least two people died in Oklahoma, Michael Dunham, Deputy Director with Mayes County Emergency Management confirmed the deaths to the Weather Channel. He said search and rescue efforts were continuing Sunday morning, with teams going house to house.

There was severe damage reported in areas like Claremore and Saline. More than 13,000 people were without power early Sunday morning.

There was heavy damage in northwest Arkansas, a tornado toppled huge trees onto homes in areas like Decatur and Rogers. More than 98,000 people were without power across the state, according to the website poweroutage.us. At least one death was reported there.

I​n Texas, 2-inch hail was reported southwest of Abilene and A 72-mph wind gust was reported about 40 miles southwest in the town of Blackwell.

I​mages shared to social media showed a tornado near Windthorst, Texas, about 100 miles northwest of the Dallas metro.

The storms are the latest round of severe weather to rip apart homes and lives across the Plains, Midwest and South this month, which is typically peak time for tornadoes in the U.S.

Friday, tornadoes were reported in Illinois and North Dakota. There were also dozens of reports of hail and high winds, including gusts between 60 mph and 70 mph in eastern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Arkansas.

High winds associated with the morning severe weather overturned this semi-trailer on Interstate 280 west of Davenport, Iowa on Friday, May 24, 2024. Several tornadoes were reported in Iowa and Illinois as storms downed power lines and trees on Friday, just after a deadly twister devastated one small town.(Roy Dabner/Quad City Times via AP)High winds associated with the morning severe weather overturned this semi-trailer on Interstate 280 west of Davenport, Iowa on Friday, May 24, 2024. Several tornadoes were reported in Iowa and Illinois as storms downed power lines and trees on Friday, just after a deadly twister devastated one small town.(Roy Dabner/Quad City Times via AP)
High winds associated with severe weather overturned this semi-trailer on Interstate 280 west of Davenport, Iowa on Friday, May 24, 2024.(Roy Dabner/Quad City Times via AP)

At least six homes were damaged Thursday night by a large tornado in Jackson County, Oklahoma, in the southwest corner of the state on the Texas border.

Five people were killed by storms in Iowa Tuesday.

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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.