MARLOW —
Traffic is congested in Marlow tonight as residents drive around their town to see the damage a powerful storm caused.
Most of the roads, from Marlow's Main Street to the south end of town are covered in debris, but roads are passable, said Marlow Police Chief Jimmy Williams. Other parts of the city also showed damage, including Nabor Street which was littered in debris.
"We do not believe it was a tornado, and haven't heard reports from the National Weather Service," Williams said about 9:50 p.m. There have been no reports of injuries.
Marlow's power crews are busy repairing lines and Williams confirmed that there were some downed power lines which have been cleared off of streets. Motorists were seen lined up at Love's Convenience Store on the south end of town on Broadway (U.S. Highway 81) as the lights went out, putting the town in the dark. The pitch black night also made it difficult for driver's to see pedestrians. Williams said the best thing people can do is stay home in case city crews need to be out working on lines.
"We've got most of the trees off the roads," he said.
Trees and large limbs littered areas around the Marlow High School auditorium, the funeral home and First Methodist Church at Fifth and Main.
Press and Susan Mahaffey had stopped at their insurance business, at 305 W. Arapahoe, which is next to Gina's Drive-Thru on Broadway.
To their surprise, they found a claim needed to be filed. Their own. Siding on the face of the building had been beat by hail and was covered with holes. Susan said they were not at home when the storm hit.
A clerk, Amanda Wenzel, was working at Gina's when the storm blew through.
"I went into the cooler," she said.
Mahaffey also believes it was just a powerful storm and strong winds.
AMR Paramedic Karen Coleman said she isn't sure what it was, but knows that it was strong.
"It blew the roof off that building to the east, right over my car, our ambulance and another vehicle," she said. The metal roof had landed in the parking lot at AMR, south of Wilco. There were also several metal pieces that appeared to have been blown around at Wilco and wrapped around a fence.
"Just be careful, it's a mess. My home was damaged too from the hail," she said.
Though the heat of the evening had melted much of the hail, there was still some on the ground that was deep enough it could have been shoveled. Some roads also had minor flooding.
Karen Coleman, a paramedic with AMR services in Marlow, updates her supervisor on the phone about the storm that hit Marlow around 7:45 p.m. Saturday, July 14, 2012. The metal roof blew off a building to the east of the AMR offices, located next to Wilco on U.S. Highway 81, south of Marlow.
Hail covers the ground at the Marlow High School campus after a strong storm came through the city just before 8 p.m. Saturday, July 14, 2012. Many homes were damaged from the strong hail that battered siding. Also trees were uprooted and power lines were down in some areas of the community.
Hail covers the ground at the Marlow High School campus after a strong storm came through the city just before 8 p.m. Saturday, July 14, 2012. Many homes were damaged from the strong hail that battered siding. Also trees were uprooted and power lines were down in some areas of the community.
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