At midday Wed, 28,000 people without power in Okla County

OKLAHOMA CITY — On what is forecasted to be one of the hottest days so far this year, power is still out at 1 PM Wednesday for over 500 in OG&E’s service area in Oklahoma County.

Uncommonly strong straight-line winds hit the north and central parts of the OKC metro Tuesday night as a series of thunderstorms merged and barreled into the city around midnight from the northwest.

What are being described by some as “hurricane-force winds” caused extensive damage to buildings in northeastern OKC around Britton Road and N. Broadway extension as well as Edmond and into the eastern part of the metro.

But, the damage was more widespread than that.

“Damage is widespread in both Oklahoma and Arkansas communities, including Midwest City, Muskogee, Edmond, Del City, Crescent, and Fort Smith,” OG&E reported in a news release at noon Wednesday.

outages
Outages in Oklahoma County as of 1 PM Wednesday, June 26. (screenshot of OG&E website)

OG&E said that they were still in the process of making “full damage assessments” and would start giving restoration times once that process was complete.

Heat creates urgency for restoration of power

The urgency of restoring power is heightened by the extreme heat that is already building especially in the metro’s urban core where steel and concrete trap heat at street level creating dangerous temperatures for anyone who is on foot.

At 1:00 PM the National Weather Service was already showing temperatures in the core of the OKC metro to reaching into the 90s. Forecasts are for the metro to start experiencing temperatures in the 100s by mid-afternoon.

Heat indices, or the experienced temperatures, were already over the 100s in the metro.

Emergency cooling centers open at midday Tuesday in Oklahoma County can be found at OGE.com/CoolZones.

Here is a screenshot of the list for Oklahoma County:

cooling
Screenshot of cooling stations in Oklahoma County. (provided by OG&E)

What to do about downed power lines

Here are instructions from OG&E about procedures if you have downed power lines:

  • Assume any downed power line is hazardous and may be energized. Stay away from them and anything they are touching. Please do not drive over a downed power line. Report a downed power line by calling 800-522-6870.
  • The public should avoid areas impacted by the storms so crews can work safely and quickly to restore power to customers who are without service.
  • As we clear tree limbs that are interfering with power lines and have damaged equipment, vegetation crews will take tree and brush debris from the customer’s yard to the curb but are unable to remove this debris from the customer’s property.
  • OG&E customers can quickly report and monitor outages:
  • As we work to restore power, it may be necessary to gain access to your property. Please ensure our crews have access and that you secure any animals.
  • Customers need to be able to take power at their homes and businesses and may need a certified electrician to repair a weather head, meter base, or service cable.

Free Press will continue to monitor weather conditions and the state of repair of power service.

Author Profile

Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.