From TheBlaze:See the Massive Tornado That Just Hit Near Oklahoma City

From TheBlaze!

Update 5:00 p.m. ET: “I can’t count the number of homes that are absolutely destroyed,” a reporter on the scene said of the damage.

Update 4:54 p.m. ET: KWTV reporting from the Moore, Okla., area said emergency responders expected injuries to number 100 or more.

Update 4:47 p.m. ET: The tornado destroyed a school gymnasium (below) but the building remained intact. This school is speculated by KWTV to be a different school than Briarwood Elementary, which is said to have taken a direct hit.

 

Update 4:43 p.m ET: Parents and neighbors seen with “tears in their eyes” rushing toward Briarwood Elementary (screenshot below). Areas where the tornado has passed through are being described as “obliterated.”

 

Update 4:40 p.m. ET: Reporters are calling the damage done by the tornado thus far “catastrophic.”

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The day after several tornadoes ripped through the midwestern states, a massive tornado was blowing through Oklahoma near Oklahoma City Monday afternoon with intense destruction that has reportedly run through an elementary school.

 

KOTV called it a “huge tornado” with a “violent rotation.” A storm tracker speculated the twister was either an F4 or F5.

A storm tracker also said “there’s houses in the air here” and noted “a ton of debris.” They reporters described houses, trees and more in the tornado as the “debris ball.”

An elementary school — thought to be Briarwood Elementary in Moore — is also said to have been hit with some children potentially being trapped.

(Image: KWTV screenshot)

 

Here’s more:

The National Weather Service has a tornado warning in effect until 3:15 p.m. CDT for northwestern Mcclain, south central Oklahoma and northern Cleveland counties. The tornado in Newcastle moving northeast at 20 miles per hour touched down at 2:55 p.m. CDT.

National Weather Service meteorologists and storm spotters reported hail up to the size of tennis balls as well.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives canceled its afternoon sessions so Capitol employees and state lawmakers could take shelter. Sirens blared and workers made their way to the Capitol basement.

Oklahoma City’s southeastern suburbs were hit by a storm Sunday and two people died. Monday’s storm is in an area that is more densely populated.

KWTV’s reporters described it as looking similar to the violent twister hit May 3, 1999.

This is a developing story. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Please pray for all in Oklahoma!