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May 14, 2009

UPDATE: Garfield Co. escapes storm damage; cooler temps prevail

Northwest Oklahoma and Garfield County escaped significant damage from a strong rotation system that swelled over the area around 6 p.m. Tuesday night.

A tornadic storm was spotted about 6 miles west of Tonkawa in Kay County, but emergency crews didn’t find a damage path, said Charles Conaghan, emergency management director for Tonkawa.

Television station storm chasers were following a tornado along the Grant County-Kay County line about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

“We do have damage in the Noble County area east of Red Rock. We had some trees uprooted,” Conaghan said. “We took precautions here, but it was close. It developed right on top us and we didn’t have much lead time.”

Garfield County Emergency Management Director Mike Honigsberg says tornado sirens sounded in the county as a precaution, but there was no confirmed tornado, just half dollar-size hail.

Cooler temperatures have moved into the area. Scattered thnderstorms are possible through tonight, although no organized severe weatheris anticipated. A few storms could become strong enough to produce marginally severe hail, the National Weather Service said.

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