An Oklahoma man tragically lost his life after being swept away by floodwaters on Wednesday, coinciding with heavy rain that led to high water alerts impacting about 16 million people across Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri. The incident occurred in Pottawatomie County when the man’s vehicle was caught by floodwaters around 12:30 p.m. A sheriff’s deputy who attempted to rescue him also found himself trapped but was subsequently saved by firefighters. Despite their efforts, the man could not be reached in time and was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office expressed condolences to the victim’s family, emphasizing the profound sadness surrounding this loss.
The flooding in Oklahoma and the Dallas area stemmed from a stalled frontal boundary, which also contributed to severe weather incidents that resulted in four fatalities in Pennsylvania a day earlier. Rainfall measurements included approximately 2 inches in Wichita Falls, Texas, and 2.8 inches in Lawton, Oklahoma, with the National Weather Service issuing flood warnings across multiple states.
Additionally, areas from eastern Texas to northern Louisiana and most of Arkansas were under tornado watches. The heaviest rainfall was expected across southeastern Oklahoma, northeastern Texas, and western Arkansas. By late Wednesday afternoon, while the heaviest rain moved out of southeastern Oklahoma, rivers remained at risk of flooding, with ongoing flood warnings in the Dallas area for Rowlett Creek.
The National Weather Service anticipated that heavy rainfall would conclude by Thursday, but new thunderstorms could develop, potentially affecting the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee valleys in the following days.
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