At least one person has died in southwest Oklahoma after flash flooding hit the region, with authorities warning people to stay off the roads as severe weather warnings continue.
“Emergency responders reported witnessing a vehicle drive into standing water earlier today,” Lawton Police Department said in a statement on Saturday. “Responders were not able to safely get to the submerged vehicle.”
The investigation into the death is ongoing, officials said on Saturday. The dive team assisted in recovery of the victim and the family has been notified, authorities said. The identity of the victim has not been released.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt expressed his gratitude for the first responders who helped perform water rescues on Saturday, but urged Oklahomans to stay safe.
“Thank you to our wonderful first responders who’ve been executing water rescues all day due to flooding from heavy rain,” he wrote in a post on X Saturday. “Oklahomans, be extra careful when driving and don’t try to drive through flooded roads. Stay weather aware!”
Lawton city officials said water began to recede in some areas on Sunday afternoon.
Further south in Walters, Oklahoma, Cotton County Emergency Management issued a public notice urging all residents to evacuate flood zone areas.
Floodwaters are expected to rise through mid-afternoon Sunday, authorities said. Emergency management is working to secure more sand and sandbags for residents.
Across the Southwest and Rockies, extremely critical fire weather conditions continue Sunday afternoon due to 60 mph wind gusts, single digit relative humidity and dry vegetation. Around 7 million people will be under alert throughout Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas.
Additional severe weather risks span from Montana to Texas, with storms capable of producing winds up to 70 mph, large hail and potentially tornadoes overnight Sunday.
On Monday, 36 million people from Texas to Michigan will be in the severe weather region, including major cities of Minneapolis, Chicago and Oklahoma City.
The strongest storms will be late afternoon and continue overnight, with the potential for intense tornadoes, very large hail and powerful wind gusts. Localized flash flooding may occur in the central region of the country.
The risk will decrease by Tuesday as it moves north to New York, when 37 million will be under a slight risk for severe weather in metropolitan areas like Indianapolis, Oklahoma City and Cleveland. As the front travels east, scattered strong to severe thunderstorms may occur with strong wind gusts, hail and an isolated tornado.
As the week continues, there will be a moderate risk in parts of the upper midwest.
