October Severe Weather Sweeps Through Northeastern Oklahoma

Severe storms swept through Northeastern Oklahoma on Thursday, cooling off the state as the autumn season set in, but they also left damage in their wake.

A large portion of Tahlequah was without power today, and there is damage to outbuildings at Tahlequah High School.

A Jenks medical clinic will be closed the rest of the week after being struck by lightning.

About 20 people, including some patients were inside the Warren Clinic, when they smelled smoke. They were able to exit safely and call firefighters.

A restoration company will clean up the mess. The clinic also is working to get in touch with all the patients who have Friday appointments.

In Coweta, strong wind snapped several power poles along Highway 51. That also knocked out several traffic lights from the Wagoner County line to about Oneta Road.

PSO says there are about 3,000 customers in Wagoner County without electricity in the early evening.

In south Tulsa, near 111th and Sheridan, we found trees snapped by strong winds.

North and West of there, flooding was the big problem. From the air in Osage SkyNews 6, you could see cars stuck in high water near 81st Street and Elwood Avenue.

In South Tulsa, near 111th Street and Sheridan Road, trees were snapped by strong winds.

The storms also impacted the Tulsa State Fair, which was forced to shut down the rides over the afternoon, and folks were forced inside the Expo Center for shelter. The storms have cleared the Tulsa area, and people are back out and about on the midway at the fairgrounds.

Fair officials said they knew chances for storms were high

“Last night when we knew the storm was coming,” Sarah Thompson said. “We went around the grounds and made sure our havi-huts and some of our pop-up tents were taken down so that they were secured. Then today we've been working with law enforcement officials including TEMA, which is Tulsa area Emergency Management Association, to monitor the weather and make sure our guests are safe."

Event coordinators said they have a severe weather plan for a worst-case scenario.

If there is lightning, rides will remain closed until it stops.

The Bret Michaels concert is still going on as planned.