>
Intrepid storm chasers captured footage of a massive wall cloud moving across south-central Oklahoma Wednesday night, a startling sight as forecasters had issued warnings that multiple tornadoes could hit the state.
The terrifying clip, filmed in the rural town of Stratford, roughly 70 miles from Oklahoma City, shows the spinning mass forming miles in the distance, briefly becoming visible through repeated lighting flashes.
A wall cloud refers to a large, often abrupt cloud mass that forms below low-flying thunderclouds. Usually seen descending from the sky to sea level, the masses are one of the main precursors to debilitating tornadoes.
With this in mind, officials in Sooner State issued tornado warnings in several counties as severe weather was seen moving through Oklahoma and into Arkansas, outside of a tornado-plagued region, regularly labeled ‘ Tornado Alley’.
Home to storm-plagued Stratford and on the cusp of the aforementioned area, Gavin County was one of several counties to receive this alert, with residents of the small town numbering 1,400 in thousands told to take shelter. .
Scroll down for the video:
Storm chasers captured images of a massive wall cloud moving across Oklahoma on Wednesday, a startling sight as forecasters issued warnings that tornadoes could hit much of the state.
The terrifying clip, filmed in the rural town of Stratford, approximately 70 miles from Oklahoma City, shows the mass formation in the distance, made visible through repeated flashes of light.
By posting images of stormy conditions being observed in Stratford at 9:15 pm, the Nader Navigators Twitter account provided valuable insight into conditions being observed on the ground in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
Rotating wall cloud confirmed south of Stratford, OK. #tornado may be on the ground!’ wrote the cheeky weather warriors, when the winds topped 80 mph.
While the mass could have produced a tornado, it’s not immediately clear if a cyclone actually materialized. As of 1:30 a.m. ET Thursday, there have been no confirmed reports of a tornado in the area.
Tornado watches in Gavin and five other Oklahoma counties have since expired as much of the weather was seen moving out of the state early Thursday, where it is expected to dissipate.
Extreme weather, which is not abnormal for the area at this time of year due to sharp temperature contrasts between the northern and southern United States, began to spike across the Great Plains earlier in the week, before gaining strength in Southeast.
The storms spent most of Wednesday moving through Oklahoma, threatening residents of not only Gavin County, but also nearby Johnston, Murray, Hughes, Pontotoc and Seminole counties.
The storms spent most of Wednesday moving through Oklahoma, threatening residents of not only Gavin County, but also nearby Johnston, Murray, Hughes, Pontotoc and Seminole counties. They have since expired, as much of the weather was seen moving out of state on Thursday.
Tuesday, when the weather was still in the central part of the state, brought a debilitating dust storm to Oklahoma City. Blinding conditions led to a 12-car crash that killed one driver, making officials wary of more victims as the weather was expected to turn. worse wednesday
On Tuesday, when severe weather was still gripping the central part of the state, it brought a debilitating dust storm to Oklahoma City, leaving citizens with near zero disability and causing multiple car accidents.
Blinding conditions led to a 12-car crash that killed one driver, which could make state officials wary of more victims as the weather was expected to worsen Wednesday.
And it got worse, hitting several towns and cities to the south with winds close to 84pm, while bringing rain and in some cases hafflict.
Officials warned that a tornado was possible, though it appears, for now, that the threat, at least for Oklahoma, has passed.
There is currently a tornado watch in place for eastern Arkansas, where storms are expected to be felt until 5 a.m.
Extreme weather is not abnormal for the area (shown in red) at this time of year, due to the sharp temperature contrasts between the northern and southern United States.