Tornado emergency hits Enid, Oklahoma, as severe storms sweep Plains

A tornado emergency in northwestern Oklahoma put Enid at the center of a multistate severe-weather outbreak that spread from Oklahoma to Iowa and kept multiple warnings active deep into the night. The National Weather Service said a "large and destructive tornado" was confirmed on the ground at 8:21 p.m. local time near Enid and Vance Air Force Base, triggering the highest tornado alert level and urgent warnings that flying debris could be deadly and mobile homes would be destroyed.

The threat was especially dangerous because it arrived after dark, when storms are harder to see and people are more likely to be asleep or slow to react to warnings. More than a dozen tornadoes were reported across the central U.S. Thursday night, including 17 reported tornadoes from Oklahoma to Iowa, as dangerous storms lined up from Oklahoma through Missouri and into Iowa. The first day of the Plains outbreak set the tone for what forecasters said could be a multiday severe-weather episode.

Enid, about 90 miles north of Oklahoma City, has roughly 50,000 residents and a long tornado record that goes back to 1875. The National Weather Service’s Enid history page includes a 2009 EF2 tornado near Vance Air Force Base, a reminder that the area has repeatedly faced destructive twisters over the decades. That long history makes the latest emergency more than a single dramatic event; it is another stress test for warning systems, shelter access, and the public’s ability to respond before a storm arrives.

Local officials said the damage response was already moving into search and rescue. Garfield County Sheriff Cory Rink said crews were working in "hard-hit" areas, and a county emergency management official said there were reports of 10 to 11 people with minor injuries as search and rescue in the Grayridge area was wrapping up. Gov. Kevin Stitt said Enid had been "severely impacted" and said he had spoken with local leaders as they assessed damage and identified needs.

Forecasters had flagged the risk hours earlier. A Storm Prediction Center mesoscale discussion at 6:50 p.m. CDT said supercells producing very large hail and a few tornadoes were most probable over northern Oklahoma into southeast Kansas in the next few hours. Oklahoma’s tornado load was already heavy before the outbreak, with the state log listing 38 tornadoes for 2026 so far. Stitt also signed Executive Order 2026-11 declaring a state of emergency in eight counties after severe weather this week, underscoring how quickly the storm pattern escalated across the region.