June 15, 2023 Texas tornado news

Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the tornado in Perryton here.

About 264,000 homes and businesses were without power in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and Alabama early Friday after severe storms in those states, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.

Here was the outage breakdown as of 2:11 a.m. ET, according to the site:

Damaged pickup trucks sit among debris after a tornado passed through a residential area in Perryton, Texas, on Thursday.

There were over 185 storm reports across the United States on Thursday as another round of severe weather impacted much of the country. 

Seven tornado reports have occurred so far, with four in Oklahoma, two in Texas and one in Michigan.

There were also observed tornado tags in Ohio and Florida, which means more tornado reports are expected.

The most significant tornado was the one that moved through Perryton, Texas and led to at least three fatalities. 

Tornado watches are set to expire in the coming hour and severe thunderstorm watches will last for the next couple of hours.

The main threats are widespread damaging winds and isolated significant gusts up to 85 mph, isolated very large hail events to 2.5 inches in diameter and a tornado or two. 

So far, there have been over 95 high wind reports across the US. Some of the most notable are:

The whole northeast side of Perryton is devastated after the tornado, Cole Underwood, Perryton High School’s athletic director and football coach, told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota. 

The school is serving as a shelter for those impacted by the storm, he said. “Upwards of 250 to 300” people were there, including “volunteers and people coming in and eating and just getting water and cleaning up,” he said.

When asked what supplies are needed most, Underwood said: “Really anything you can think of: blankets, flashlights, candles. We would take anything and be grateful for anything that’s donated.”

“Sadly, there’s just not a list of things … you think about that you need on hand, but people lost everything today,” he told CNN.

The coach said he has “just been so amazed at the level of camaraderie and love that this town has for each other, and there’s no doubt in my mind that it will continue. … We will persevere through this thing.”

Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher told CNN most of the missing are believed to be accounted for after the tornado hit the Texas town.  

Dutcher said there may still be one person missing and searchers are using infrared cameras on drones to search the area.  

Of the three who died from the tornado, two were killed in the downtown business district and the third died in a trailer park in the northeast part of town, he said.

The fire department building suffered a direct hit from the tornado.

Dutcher described the tornado-damaged area in Perryton as a mile to a mile-and-half long and as many as 200 homes may have been destroyed.  

Storm chaser Brian Emfinger tells CNN that Thursday’s tornado cut through some of the main sections of Perryton, Texas.

Emfinger said the worst he saw was in the northwest part of town. People there had little warning as the tornado touched down, barreling toward a mobile home park directly in its path, he said.

“The storm produced a wall cloud very quickly, and that wall cloud tightened up very rapidly and then it just went to the ground very quickly,” Emfinger said.

Usually with a strong tornado, there’s a lot of leeway time for people to prepare, he said.

Medical staff from other hospitals near Perryton, Texas, rushed to help up to 100 people hurt after a tornado struck, Kelly Judice, Ochiltree General Hospital interim CEO,  told CNN Thursday. 

“Right now, we don’t have anybody in our emergency room,” Judice told CNN just before midnight. “We have either transferred them out or they have been able to go home — today we have seen somewhere between 75 and 100,” she said. 

The majority of the patients treated “were all coming from north/northeast of the town,” said Judice. The injured had “head injuries, collapsed lungs, broken legs, major lacerations—a little bit of everything,” she said.

The hospital has not seen fatalities from the severe weather event, according to Judice. 

The hospital is currently running on generators.

A view of a damaged site in Perryton as the town gets struck by a tornado on Thursday.

Perryton Fire Department Chief Paul Dutcher tells KAMR-TV that at least three people have died after a tornado struck the town. 

CNN has attempted to reach the Perryton Fire Department with no response.

Perryton, Texas is without power as “facilities have been de-energized for safety purposes,” utility company Xcel Energy said in an email to CNN.

The National Weather Service in Amarillo confirmed that a tornado struck the town and images of extensive damage have been circulating on social media.

In a series of tweets, US Rep. Ronny Jackson said the people of Perryton, Texas, will be in need of help after a tornado ripped through the Panhandle town.

A screengrab obtained from a social media video shows a view of a damaged site in Perryton as the town gets struck by a tornado on Thursday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is deploying state emergency response resources to “meet urgent life-safety needs in Perryton, Texas,” according to a news release from the governor’s office. 

The National Weather Service in Amarillo confirmed that a tornado struck the town. Images of extensive damage have been circulating on social media.

The Red Cross told CNN in an email that it is mobilizing its teams on the ground to support the people impacted in the Perryton area tornado.

The state of Texas as well as cities and counties surrounding the Panhandle town are sending aid after a tornado ripped through the area Thursday afternoon.

The Red Cross does not have location details at this time for shelter locations, according to Maul.

Between 50 to 100 injured people have been treated in a Perryton hospital after a tornado hit the Texas town Thursday, Ochiltree General Hospital CFO Debbie Beck told CNN over the phone.

Beck said the injuries range from “very minor” to “collapsed lungs, head injuries, and broken bones.”  

No fatalities have been recorded, she said.

Medics have been treating patients at the hospital without power, she said.  

Beck said the tornado struck the northeast part of Perryton and went down a portion of Main Street, causing damage to homes and businesses. 

The fire department and EMS were also hit and a trailer park sustained heavy damage, she added.  

The Amarillo Fire Department is sending in resources to assist in the Texas Panhandle town of Perryton after Thursday’s tornado.

Amarillo, Texas is located approximately two hours south of Perryton.  

Hansford County Judge Tim Glass tells CNN the county is assisting “for a possible mass casualty and/or recovery event” in nearby Perryton, Texas.  

Hansford County, Texas borders Ochiltree County, where Perryton is located.  

The state of Texas as well as cities and counties surrounding the Panhandle town of Perryton are sending aid after a tornado ripped through the area Thursday afternoon.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and the state’s Division of Emergency Management are mobilizing resources, State Rep. Four Price of District 87 said in a Facebook post.

Beaver County, Oklahoma, Emergency Manager Keith Shadden told CNN the county has sent fire, law enforcement and EMS units across the state border to help. He said they intend to send a second wave to assist but are waiting for the weather to clear in the county.

The city of Stinnett, Texas, about 56 miles from Perryton, is sending officers and EMS crews, and the Hutchinson County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that they are also assisting with rescue and emergency operations following the “devastating tornado.”

The Borger Police Department, Booker Fire Department and officials with the City of Fritch are all responding to Perryton to assist with tornado damage.

CNN has reached out to local officials for more information.

The National Weather Service in Amarillo confirmed that a tornado struck the town of Perryton, Texas. Images of extensive damage have been circulating on social media.