Large Tornado Slams Small Oklahoma Town

(CBS/AP)  At least five homes and a barn owned by the county government were destroyed and other structures were damaged Monday by a large tornado in the western Oklahoma town of Hammon.

No injuries were reported with the storm, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten said. Besides the five homes that were destroyed, the roofs of several other houses were blown off, and power lines were down throughout the area, Ooten said.

"It really skirted the southeast corner and missed the population center," Roger Mills County Sheriff Joe Hay said. "We had lots of warning. Our local storm spotters and the Hammon fire department were on top of the tornado before it got started."

The barn - a large metal building - housed some vehicles and other equipment that belonged to Roger Mills County, officials said.

CBS News affiliate NEWS 9's storm tracker Val Castor reported a tornado on the ground about 9 miles north of Elk City around 5:17 p.m., about 110 miles west of Oklahoma City. According to Castor, the tornado was on the ground for about 20 minutes, traveling across open countryside before reaching Hammon, about 15 miles to the north.

Allene Bottom, who lives on a farm near Hammon, watched the storm as it approached.

"It's a mess," Bottom said by telephone. "They have people up there stopping people from going in to town."

The tornado was part of a large weather system tracking through the Plains.

John Pike, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service's Norman office, said an average of four tornadoes are reported in March in Oklahoma, but Monday's tornado was larger than what is typically seen this time of year.

"We are starting to get near spring, and get a clashing of the air masses along with more moisture from the south. That's what is really the fuel for the storms."

There was no immediate confirmation of additional tornadoes.

Click below to watch NEWS 9's report:

[antonebraga]

I hope this helps. There's more to disaster preparedness/recovery than meets the eye. When it comes to our property, what do we expect in case of loss (hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood, fire, etc.)? The disaster itself is news. What happens after the dust settles is the story: the aftermath shock. With a little curiosity you can mitigate that shock.

Here is something the public should know. Insurance policyholders, and more importantly disaster survivors, need to be informed of access to equality--basic rights and information. The internet reaches far more people than anyone would have ever imagined, though difficult to gather those willing to pause, to inspect, to further...to think on their own. And yet, much is available gratis! It just takes looking: www.disasterprepared.net/info.html

[rockcutr]

Big wind in Oklahoma. Now there's a huge surprise.
Nearly as unbelievable as flooding rivers in spring, huricanes on coastlines, and farting babys.

[retiredgustav]

But not in early March.

[curse914]

Someone in the town must have done something to upset our divine ruler.

[AlmytKth]

Good work CBS website editor. Tornado pictures are easy to confuse with "A mother comforts her crying child in Dogo Nahwa, Nigeria...".

Also, your headline is rather misleading:

"Large Tornado Slams Small Oklahoma Town"

All that says to me is that some poor town was wiped off the face of the Earth. While you report that five homes and a barn were destroyed, no injuries were mentioned, and neither were there reports of deaths. My heart goes out to those who lost their homes, but, the tornado was not as destructive as the headline made it out to be

[AlmytKth]

Good to see that since i posted this comment earlier that the caption underneath the picture of the tornado was changed to reflect what is actually shown