UPDATE: Sunday, April 15, 2012

Officials have confirmed that 20 people in Woodward were injured by a tornado that killed five people Sunday.

Woodward Mayor Roscoe Hill, who is also a member of the Woodward Regional Hospital board, said Sunday afternoon that seven people were critically injured in the deadly storm. Two of those seven were airlifted to nearby hospitals.

Woodward Police Chief Harvey Rutherford said Sunday that three of the five deaths occurred at the mobile home park.

State medical examiner spokeswoman Amy Elliot says a man named
Frank Hobie and his two daughters, ages 5 and 7, died after the
tornado hit their mobile home park.

She says the other victims were Darren Juul and a 10-year-old girl who died when the home they were in a few miles away was hit.

UPDATE

Authorities say search and rescue crews are combing an area of northwest Oklahoma around the towns of Woodward and Tangier after a tornado just after midnight, local time, left five people confirmed dead.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said early Sunday that state medical examiner's office had confirmed the fatalities in the Woodward area.

Woodward Mayor Roscoe Hill say sirens apparently were not sounding though they had worked for earlier storms. Hill says the tornado hit in a mixed area of residences and businesses.

Forecasters continue to warn that the possibility for "life threatening" severe weather still exists today across the Midwest and Plains.

Tornadoes were spotted yesterday at a faster pace than spotters could keep up with in some places.

Storms were reported in Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma. In
western Iowa, a large part of the town of Thurman was destroyed. Sound: various and pursuing

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said early Sunday that state medical examiner's office had confirmed the fatalities in the Woodward area. Cain said she didn't know the gender or age of the victims or details of their death.

The National Weather Service said the tornado hit at 12:18 a.m. Sunday.

Woodward Mayor Roscoe Hill told AP that sirens were not apparently sounding when the tornado hit. He said the sirens had gone off loudly during earlier storms on Saturday afternoon. Hill says the tornado hit in a mixed area of residences and businesses.

Woodward police say search and rescue units have gone to the damage area.