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A freight train in northwest Oklahoma had multiple cars overturned after powerful winds battered the region, underscoring the force of a severe storm system that prompted tornado warnings and widespread disruption across the state.
Woodward Fire Department said a train was found with most of its cars toppled between Woodward and Westmoreland, Woodward News reported. A photo sent to Oklahoma's News 9 also showed the damage near U.S. Highway 412 and County Road 207.
The derailment occurred as meteorologists warned of damaging winds, large hail and the potential for tornadoes across much of Oklahoma, part of a wider outbreak that stretched across the Midwest and into the Ohio Valley.
Read More on Weather
Newsweek contacted Woodward Fire Department, Woodward County Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Oklahoma Department of Transportation for comment on Monday via email outside regular office hours.
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Warnings and Outages Across Oklahoma
More than 70,000 were without power in Oklahoma Monday morning, with more than 2,000 in Woodward County and 24,000 in Oklahoma County, according to the tracking site Poweroutage.us.
Tornado warnings had also been in place for Noble, Logan and Payne Counties until 2 a.m., News 9 reported.
As of early Monday, severe thunderstorm warnings and watches from the National Weather Service (NWS) span much of the state.
"Remain alert for a possible tornado!" the NWS said in a severe weather statement. "Tornadoes can develop quickly from severe thunderstorms. If you spot a tornado go at once into the basement or small central room in a sturdy structure."
Midwest Hit by Dozens of Tornadoes
A tornado outbreak has been unfolding across the Midwest since Sunday night, with almost 30 tornadoes reported as storms move toward the Ohio Valley. The new system follows a deadly round of severe weather, which caused widespread damage days earlier. At least two people were killed on Sunday in rural Jefferson County, Illinois, according to the sheriff.
NWS Norman said that as of 3:45 a.m. local time, a dangerous line of thunderstorms was continuing to move toward the south, with damaging wind gusts between 65 and 75 miles per hour expected.
Behind the main line of storms, strong winds between 45 and 55 mph are expected, according to the agency. "These winds can materialize even in the absence of rainfall," the NWS said. "This activity is likely to continue through day break."
The NWS Weather Prediction Center said scattered heavy rainfall and severe weather is possible on Monday across much of the U.S.—from the Northeast to the High Plains—with unsettled weather continuing in the central U.S. through midweek.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon and Shakeema Edwards.
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