Oklahoma Tornado Videos Show 'Intense' Storms As Warnings Issued

A fierce storm struck Oklahoma on Sunday night as tornados whipped across parts of the state battered by giant hailstones.

Winds of up to 80 mph were recorded in parts of the state late on Sunday afternoon, hitting the Oklahoma City metro area around 9 p.m. Huge chunks of ice rained down during the storms, and tornados were seen near Custer City, Yukon, and Mustang.

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The news comes just two weeks after a "mile-wide" tornado caused severe damage in Oklahoma. The weather has dominated news headlines in recent weeks as extreme events have rocked the country. Experts fear that climate change will make extreme weather patterns worse, with a series of researchers and scientists telling Newsweek their grim predictions for the future. Many believe that more thunderstorms and floods are likely, along with tornadoes, hurricanes, and droughts.

Forecasters had warned the Midwest to brace for a "derecho," a type of storm system that travels across a huge distance rapidly. They had suggested tornados may be possible with winds up to 100 mph on Sunday.

A number of tornado warnings were later posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the National Weather Service on Sunday, with a "tornado emergency" alert posted for Custer City. Residents were urged to immediately "take cover" at around 8.30 p.m.

A graphic showed the scale of the storm, which moved across western Oklahoma and also hit parts of the north and east of the state.

Flights into and out of the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City were delayed as the high winds made it unsafe to land or take off, but the runways were reopened shortly after 10.30 p.m., according to The Oklahoman. The newspaper reported that some hailstones were the size of baseballs.

Several storm chasers posted footage said to have been recorded during the night in Oklahoma, although Newsweek has been unable to verify the various clips.

Videos posted online show giant tornados whipping up dust and debris as thunder crashes and lightning splits the dark sky.

One weather fan, meteorologist and PhD student Andrew Justin captured an incredible storm and captioned his 30-second clip: "Strong multi-vortex tornado NE of Union City. His post was shared more than 900 times.

Footage captured by drone pilot and storm chaser @brianemfinger was posted on X with the words: " Tornado damage tonight in Oklahoma west of Oklahoma City."

The footage appeared to show a roof had been ripped from a house, with a pile of debris on the lawn outside, which also had a mangled tree and two cars that had apparently been swept up in the storm.

Others were left in awe by the power unleashed overhead. One X user wrote: "I cannot believe what I'm seeing. One of the best supercells I've ever seen." Another shaken witness said: "This some horror movie s***."

Following the dramatic storms overnight, the weather warnings continued into the early hours of Monday morning, as the Norman, Oklahoma, branch of the National Weather Service posted a string of alerts online.

Residents were warned that flash flooding was likely to engulf parts of the state, including in the areas around Stillwater, Yale, and Morrison.

But by 4.15 a.m., the NWS forecasters suggested that things were settling down, writing: "Chances for severe weather early this morning are now very low and confined to east-central OK. Gusty winds and heavy rainfall are possible with the strongest storm(s) through daybreak."