Storms dump more rain on area

By BOB GIBBINS

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS May 08, 2008 11:23 am

— Severe thunderstorms dumped another 2 inches of rain on an already soggy Tahlequah Wednesday.
Rainfall totals on the National Weather Service Web site show nearly 2.25 inches of rain between 7:15 a.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesday fell at the Tahlequah airport. Periods of heavy rain occurred through much of the day and into the evening.
The area was under a severe thunderstorm warning at one time, and some neighboring counties were under tornado warnings.
Tahlequah-Cherokee County Assistant Emergency Management Director Mike Underwood said spotters Scott Pettus and Steve Ford spotted rotation aloft on the west side of the city near Indian Capital Technology Center, but no funnel cloud ever dropped from the sky.
Underwood said the rotation was confirmed by radar. He said wind speeds reached 60 mph in some sections of the city during the storm. Some pea-sized to dime sized hail was also reported in the county.
The Illinois River at Tahlequah was well below flood stage Wednesday after the evening storm rolled through. The river level at 9 p.m. was 4.77 feet and was expected to reach 6.1 feet by Friday evening. Flood stage at Tahlequah is 11 feet.
Some residents of the county in the Welling area were reported to have lost power during the storm. A tree was also down on North Vinita.

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