Tagged: Oklahoma

The NBA's Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace last year.

But the player known for being at the center of a 2004 brawl in the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan showed Sunday that his new name doesn't mean he's changed all his wild ways.

Emergency management officials in Oklahoma confirmed Monday that the number of dead had reached six for a single twister there that packed winds of 136-165 mph, according to forecasters.

Kurt Gwartney from NPR member station KGOU says officials were surveying the damage that occurred from some 120 storms over the week. The results of that survey could prompt federal assistance.

Gwartney reports:

Over the weekend, tornadoes ripped through several states, killing at least five people in Oklahoma and causing millions in damage to communities. Among the hardest hit areas was Wichita, Kan., which has seen its share of hardship over the past several years.

Over 100 tornadoes touched down Saturday in the Great Plains, causing millions of dollars in damage across Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. Despite the wreckage, there were few fatalities, a result perhaps due in part to the National Weather Service's warnings. Russell Schneider of the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., offers his insight.

Several deaths and injuries have been reported following a tornado that rolled across Woodward, Okla. It was just one of the twisters that struck the Midwest on Saturday and overnight. As Kansas Public Radio's J. Schafer reports, more than 100 tornadoes touched down across four states.