Powerful twisters on Sunday afternoon danced around the Route 66 corridor between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and damaged homes in Wellston and Edmond, reported The Oklahoman newspaper and other media outlets.
As of Sunday evening, there were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
The Oklahoman posted this video from Edmond:
Tornadoes also were reported near the Route 66 towns of Arcadia and Luther. But the twisters tended to go north of those locations. Pops in Arcadia tweeted that its landmark convenience store / restaurant was unharmed by the storm. And Route 66 author and photographer Shellee Graham, who lives near Arcadia, saw no damage but posted a photo of the tornado on her Facebook account.
KFOR-TV posted several photos of homes in Wellston that were damaged or destroyed by the twister.
The Associated Press filed a story about the damage in Edmond:
“I knew it was coming,” said Randy Grau, who huddled with his wife and two young boys in their Edmond’s home’s safe room when the tornado hit. He said he peered out his window as the weather worsened and believed he saw a flock of birds heading down the street.
“Then I realized it was swirling debris. That’s when we shut the door of the safe room, said Grau, adding that they sheltered in the room for 10 minutes.
UPDATE 3/20/2013: Ron Hart of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce sent these photos after a storm raked the east side of Carthage, Mo., on Sunday night. He said the storm didn’t affect any Route 66 landmarks which he’s aware.
Also, you’ve doubtlessly heard about the awful tornado that struck the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, Okla., on Monday afternoon. The storm that produced the tornado traveled northeast near the Route 66 corridor, but it weakened considerably by the time it reached the Tulsa region.