Oklahoma Tornado Death Toll at Least 5 in...

Weather officials predicted that Saturday would hold severe weather several days in advance. They were not wrong. An Oklahoma tornado hit at 12:16 a.m. on Sunday morning in Woodward, and at least five people died, two of whom were children.

Part of the reason five people died in this Oklahoma tornado is because the sirens failed to sound. The tornado warning was issued at least four minutes before the massive storm hit, but people were not able to take cover because they did not hear the warning sirens.

The reasons the sirens failed is because lightning actually disabled the system. You would think that would not happen because of the nature of the system, but it did. It was especially scary in Woodward because students were at their prom after party when the tornado hit. The two children who died in the Oklahoma tornado were in the Hide A Way mobile home park.

Early details show that at least 121 tornadoes hit in five states in the past 24 hours. Because of the advance warnings, it seems that the death toll has been minimized. Another reason is because the storms hit in sparsely populated areas.

Were you affected by the severe storms that swept across the central plains this weekend? Did the advance warning help you stay aware of the weather conditions around you? Did you change your plans because of the tornado warnings and high severe weather risk?