April 29 – Officials say a tornado on Sunday that touched down near Crowder before becoming a waterspout as it crossed Lake Eufaula caused no damage, with flooding the leading cause of damage reported in the area from weekend storms.
Local storm spotters from McAlester/Pittsburg County Emergency Management began monitoring a severe thunderstorm with observed rotation after receiving a report of a small funnel near the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.
The storm continued to rotate as it moved across the northwest side of McAlester. The storm eventually spawned a tornado south of Crowder near the Cardinal Point Recreation Area at about 5:20 p.m. Sunday before becoming a waterspout as it crossed Lake Eufaula before lifting off as it approached the city.
The storm continued to spin until it reached the Longtown area before leaving the province. A second tornado-warned storm passed through far northern potions of the county without reports of any tornado touchdowns as it entered McIntosh County.
The National Weather Service in Tulsa said two crews were conducting damage surveys in eastern Oklahoma on Monday, with preliminary preparations for the tornado/waterspout expected to be released later this week.
Lenoard Baughman, deputy director of Pittsburg County/McAlester Emergency Management, said no reports of the tornado/waterspout had been received and the focus was on damage caused by flash flooding.
Data from the Oklahoma Mesonet shows 5.68 inches of rain has fallen at the McAlester Regional Airport since April 26, with an estimated 2 to 3 inches of rain in the county from Saturday night through Sunday morning.
In addition to reports of damage to roads in the county, the city of McAlester is also dealing with damage to the softball complex on the west side of town.
Doug Basinger, director of community services for the city of McAlester, said five to eight feet of rushing water covered the four ball fields and caused damage to the complex.
“This is something we have to deal with,” Basinger said before stating that this is the second time in his 10 years of working for the city that the complex has received so much water.
“But never has this much fencing been removed,” Basinger said. “We were looking at five feet of water in the concession stand.”
Basinger said a berm near the softball complex had been breached in three different places and explained that the berm is holding back water from a creek that receives all of the water from the south side of the city.
“And when it gets here, it has nowhere to go,” Basinger said. “It just starts backing up. A lot of people say, make the creek wider and deeper. Well, you can’t. You’re not allowed by law to change the depth of a creek, the width of a creek or the course .” of a creek. We’re in a hole here. This used to be much higher than when it was once a softball complex.
Basinger said co-ed softball games at the complex have been canceled until further notice and he expects the field to be ready before summer league play begins in July.
He said while it’s frustrating, it was a drop in the bucket compared to what other parts of Oklahoma have experienced.
“In the big picture, we look at it because this is not someone’s home or someone’s life or a whole part of downtown,” Basinger said. “It’s devastating for us here in this group. But in the big picture, that’s not the case.”
Pittsburg County and McAlester residents who suffered damage from Wednesday’s storm are asked to report damage by contacting the Pittsburg County/McAlester Emergency Management Office at 918-423-5655.
Choctaw Nation tribal members can also report damage to the Choctaw Nation Emergency Management Office at 1-844-709-6301, or by email at OEM@choctawnation.com.
