113 mph Wind Hits Lahoma Storm Strips Trees, Ruins 28 Residences

LAHOMA - Hurricane-force winds and hail that pummeled this community Wednesday caught most people by surprise and spared few .

Just about every house and business in Lahoma was damaged by the storm, which passed through about 2:45 p.m., Mayor Paul Syoen said.

"I haven't seen anything that didn't get hail damage," he said.

"It's pretty severe. I didn't see any damage that appeared to be minor. " Several minor injuries were reported - cuts from broken glass and bruises from being pounded by hail were reported, authorities said.

State Civil Defense Director Keith Allen said the storm destroyed 25 mobile homes and three single-family residences. More than 70 other homes received minor to extensive damage.

The National Weather Service said its Mesonet station near Lahoma, just west of Enid, measured sustained winds of 78 mph for five minutes at 2:50 p.m. Some gusts reached 113 mph.

Residents said they received little or no warning and ran to seek shelter in convenience store coolers, cellars or any place they could find just before the storm hit.

"The people here are devastated," Syoen said. "We've just gotten clobbered like so many small communities in Oklahoma, and we're just going to have to pull together and do the best we can. " Syoen said he expects most in town will rebuild.

Rosa Glaser, who lives in a mobile home, said she dashed into a storm cellar when she saw a cloud of dust raised by the storm heading toward her house.

"When it hit, it opened the cellar door, and the hail was coming through the vent and the vents have covers on them," she said.

Golf ball-size hail piled up at least three inches deep. Hail stripped metal siding from mobile homes and landed inside rooms.

Mary's RV store lost its entire inventory of recreational vehicles and travel trailers, estimated at $500,000, said store owner Mike Biggers.

Floor and roof damage was reported at Cimarron School's gym, while students were in class at the school. Officials late Wednesday had not determined if classes would be held today.

The roof of the town's post office was also damaged, Allen said.

South of town, hail stripped evergreen trees and ravaged a cluster of about 12 mobile homes, overturning one.

Fields at Lahoma looked like mud slides, with trenches in some fields several feet deep caused by driving rain and hail.

Lahoma residents still were without power and telephone service Wednesday night. U.S. 412 west of Lahoma was blocked to traffic because of downed power lines on the highway.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and Garfield County sheriff's deputies set up checkpoints throughout the town to keep sightseers moving and prevent looting.

Lumberyards in Enid, 10 miles east, stayed open later to give storm victims a chance to buy materials to board up windows.

The Salvation Army from Enid set up a shelter in Lahoma, and authorities were trying to find shelter for many of the town's 500 residents.

Residents said they first saw a big cloud of dust moving toward Lahoma.

The thick dust forced motorists off the roads and caused two minor accidents east of Lahoma on U.S. 412.

Nina Newton, a clerk at the Lahoma Corner Store, said she sent about 15 customers to the cooler for safety.

When she returned to her counter, hail started pounding the store and blew out glass windows.

David Cutler from Enid was heading east on U.S. 412 when the storm hit.

He stopped in Lahoma, grabbed his wife and young daughter and ran inside the Corner Store.

"We could hardly open the door to get in the store and got in the cooler with the rest of them," Cutler said. "Luckily we didn't stay in the car because the window that got busted was on my daughter's side. " Bobby Hankins, a highway patrol trooper, suffered bruises and internal injuries when the storm hit his mobile home about two miles south of Lahoma.

His mobile home overturned and landed on his personal car and patrol cruiser.

Staff writer Steve Lackmeyer contributed to this report. BIOG: NAME:

Archive ID: 584082