Deadly ... one of the massive storms rampaging through Oklahoma last night
Published: 01st June 2013
A MOTHER and baby died as they were sucked out of their car by a killer tornado.
The powerful winds lifted the vehicle into the air — then blew the woman and child out the windows.
They were among at least nine people killed by a series of deadly twisters that struck across the US state of Oklahoma during Friday's evening rush hour.
It came just 11 days after a monster storm killed 24 people nearby in Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City.
Residents of the devastated town were forced to run for shelter again as weathermen issued a tornado warning.
Wreck ... powerful winds overturned lorries
Damage ... homes were reduced to matchsticks
The mother and baby were killed while travelling on Interstate 40, just west of Oklahoma City.
Betsy Randolph, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said their vehicle was picked up by the storm and they were sucked out of it.
The interstate was shut following a number of crashes and injuries. Elsewhere huge lorries were blown over by the winds.
Two of the nine deaths in Oklahoma were in Union City and one was in El Reno, a rural area west of Oklahoma City.
Over 40 people were being treated for storm-related injuries — including five in critical condition, among them a child.
The tornados struck 11 days after a twister ranked as EF5, the most powerful rating, tore through Moore's houses and schools killing 24 people.
One of yesterday's tornados rampaged down Interstate 40 toward Oklahoma City, tipping over trucks and hurling hay bales, a witness said.
Television images showed downed power lines and tossed cars as the storm systems dumped at least three inches of rain, stranding motorists in flood water.
Storm ... twister churns through Oklahoma
Force ... tornados knocked down power lines
"Everyone acted differently in this storm, and as a result, it created an extremely dangerous situation.
"I think we are still a little shaken by what happened in Moore. We are still burying children and victims, so our emotions are still strong."
Brandi Vanalphen, 30, was among the hundreds of drivers trapped on clogged roads as she attempted to flee the tornado menacing the suburb of Norman.
She said: "What got me scared was being stuck in traffic with sirens going off.
"I started seeing power flashes to the north, and I said 'screw this.' I started driving on the shoulder. People started driving over the grass."
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said motorists faced great danger when stuck on any freeway in the path of a twister.
"What we saw from the tornadoes that came through Moore and the other ones last week was that people who were in cars on the Interstate were killed," Fallin told CNN.
Devastation ... trail of damage in twister's wake
Deluge ... cars trapped in flash floods
Moore had limited damage from the latest storm activity, said a police dispatcher for the city.
Storms later swept into neighbouring Illinois and Missouri, where Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency.
Hundreds of thousands of homes in the three states were reported to be without power today.
On Thursday storms in Oklahoma and Arkansas killed at least three people, including Sheriff Cody Carpenter, whose body was recovered early on Friday.
A man also died in Tull, Arkansas, when a tree fell on his car, and a woman's body was found in flood waters in Scott County on Friday.
