Update: Death toll has increased to 51, Oklahoma’s chief medical examiner tells @ABC

CNN Headline at 9:00 pm ET: “Tornado kills at least 37 — including 7 elementary school students”

 

CNN: At least 10 people were killed from tornado

4th, 5th, 6th graders from Plaza Towers Elementary School accounted for, “still no word” on other grades #Moore, OK – @msnbc

 


 

@KFOR: 4th 5th & 6th graders at Plaza Towers elementary in Moore, OK are ok; they were not in school during tornado

To put the recent devastation in perspective, the 1999 tornado with the strongest winds ever recorded on earth at 302 mph is being called less damaging than today’s.

Pres Obama receiving updates on tornadoes in Okla. DHS Secy Napolitano discussing situation w/ Okla. Governor – @markknoller

 

Oklahoma emergency mgmt dir. says tornado path was 12 miles. Devastation “widespread” & “significant.” – @WilliamsJon

CNN: Significant damage to hospital in Moore, OK

KWTV: 3-month old baby, four year old child among the dead in Moore, OK – CharlieKayeCBS #tornado

Storm spotters have reported a tornado on the ground 2 miles east of Owens, TX in Brown County at 4:47pm CT. – @wunderground

 

442pm (Midwest time) – New TORNADO warning for SRN Lincoln Co. Residents of Sparks Take Shelter NOW! #okwx – @NWSNorman

Tornado on the ground 4 miles NE of Meeker, OK. If you are in this area take precautions now. – @NEWS9

TORNADO APPROACHING: Lowering wall cloud over Paul’s Valley, OK. Get in shelters now!!! pic.twitter.com/dnCyHaracd – @kpassoth

 

CNN: Third graders being “pulled out” alive now

@KFOR: Some of the kids were in the school buildings that were hit by the tornado in Moore, OK

CNN: “The houses are destroyed. … Completely leveled,” a helicopter pilot for CNN affiliate KFOR said. A school was apparently among the structures leveled by the twister.

CNN: Tornado estimated at 2 miles wide. Meteorologists: Must be underground to survive a direct hit

@KFOR Meterologist on LIVE TV: This is “The biggest destructive tornado in the history of the world”

TORNADO AFTERMATH: Multiple fires breaking out in areas just damaged/destroyed by the OKC metro tornado. –@TWCBreaking

“This is much more massive than May 3, 1999” tornado that wrecked Moore, OK. “Likely an EF-5.” – @kfor

House on fire in devastated Moore, OK

An estimatedtwo-mile wide tornado touched down this afternoon in Newcastle, OK and Moore, OK near capital Oklahoma City. Parts of the Oklahoma city metropolitan area, a region of close to 55 million people, have been under a tornado watch for nearly three hours and videos show the tornado tearing rampantly through the South Oklahoma City region. The tornado video is absolutely stunning and was captured on live television for almost an hour. The photos from the destruction that the massive Moore, Oklahoma tornado caused are devastating.

Tens of millions of people from Texas to the Great Lakes were warned to brace for severe weather one day after a tornado outbreak killed two elderly men in Oklahoma and turned a trailer park into splinters, according to NBC.

Here is the video of the massive Oklahoma tornado wreaking havoc.

The most severe damage is thought to be in Oklahoma and parts of Missouri, though forecasters are noting hailstorms stretching as far north as Wisconsin and Minnesota. In Kansas, a tornado touched down in Viola, west of Wichita, and was spotted near Mid-Continent Airport on the city’s southwest side

CNN estimates there were approximately 171,000 in the twister’s path, though such a path can be terribly difficult to predict and assess.

An estimated 300 homes were damaged or destroyed across Oklahoma, Red Cross spokesman Ken Garcia told CNN.

Some witnesses are claiming the tornado spanned at least two miles in diameter. Already the images are rolling in and we’ll be sure to have those for you as soon as confirmed.

79-year-old Glen Irish and 76-year-old Billy Hutchinson are the only two fatalities reported thus far, thought due to the extensive damage and massive size of the tornado, I would be hard pressed to think that these were the only two.

Be sure to check back with BostInno for the latest updates. In the meantime, and this goes especially for our Midwest readers, be sure to check the weather service for possible tornado warnings in your area. Already the weekend has seen a collection of Mother Nature’s destructive power and its possible for this to keep perpetuating. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims.

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