Norman Scanner Report: Liveblogging Storms In Cleveland County, Okla.

Just got home after a long day at work, but I beat it home before the storms moved through Cleveland County. A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Cleveland County, Okla., among many others until 9:45 p.m. Storms are moving across Oklahoma mostly from northwest to southeast, and it's part of a pattern that will stay with the Sooner State the next several days.

Given that The Norman Files is fairly new, I decided I would liveblog the storm and let you know in as real-time a fashion as possible what's happening in Norman and surrounding areas as we get pounded with storms. That is, I presume we're about to get pounded.

There IS a severe thunderstorm warning, ya' know.

So, if you stumble upon this post and it's still Thursday night, make it a point to refresh and refresh for the latest. I'll post info related to the weather below.

If you stumble upon this in the year 2082, just know I had a good time. Enjoy.

9:21 p.m. Possible residential fire reported at 2312 Augusta Drive in Norman. Caller advises that lightning might have struck the residence.

9:24 p.m. Nothing showing at the residence. Man, the fire department here is fast!

9:27 p.m. According to the Interactive Radar at KOCO.com, storms are moving from NW to SE and should be in Norman any minute now.

9:28 p.m. Report of wires arcing (she said "arching," is that right?) at NE 27th and North Eastern.

9:30 p.m. Report of a transformer blown at 308 Orr Drive in Norman.

9:47 p.m. Drivers stuck in water along or near I-35 at about SE 66th Street.

9:54 p.m. Thunder pretty steady, but -- again -- no big whoop. Report of "line trouble," although I'm not sure what that is at 4405 Katie Ridge Drive, which I believe is in Moore.

9:55 p.m. Dispatcher says they've had power problems for a bit tonight. I could make my usual rude comment about our electricity provider, but I'll keep my comments to myself. Of course until my power goes off, which should happen any minute given that it's raining.

10 p.m. Now THAT was some legitimate Thunder! This is still kind of a p**** storm.

This is terrible video, at least the lighting part for sure, but it's a look out my front door tonight as it rains. I'm working on getting my video ready for such an occasion as this. Bear with me!

10:03 p.m. Police advise that roads near the westside Wal-Mart in Norman be barricaded. Probably an area prone to flooding.

10:05 p.m. Report of a commercial fire alarm at 2020 Industrial Blvd. in Norman. This would be the Oklahoma Geological Survey warehouse. It's hard to say whether this is a legitimate fire, caused perhaps by lightning, or a lightning-induced alarm. Stay tuned.

10:09 p.m. Car wreck with injury at I-35 and Newcastle exit, which I do believe is at the Riverwind Casino. I also believe I heard an officer say "rollover" in connection with this crash. Almost certainly weather-related.

10:13 p.m. Call for a water rescue at Tecumseh and 36th Ave. NW. Folks drive into this stuff, water too high for them to see bottom. But in defense, it can be hard to see at night, particularly in poorly lit areas.

11:18 p.m. The storm is over here in Norman for tonight, but my Web connection pooted out right at about 10:15 p.m. Cox Communications is typically pretty good, but just as soon as I said something nasty about the ol' electricity provider, my cable modem decides to quit serving pages.

Alas, here's what you missed in the last hour of the storm:

• 10:18 p.m. Commercial fire alarm at Lowe's Home Improvement, 1501 S. Service Road.


• 10:22 p.m. OUPD got to the scene of what, I think, was the fire alarm at the Oklahoma Geological Survey and determined it was a malfunctioning alarm.


• 10:44 p.m. Car hits building at 1723 Lancaster Circle in Norman. I swear it sounded like the responding officer said the driver was trying to get out of a lease, but surely I misheard that.


• 11:10 p.m. Road signs blown over in the 1800 block of Imhoff.

OK, that's all for the ol' storm edition of scanner blogging tonight. If you stumble upon this and it entertained you and/or you'd like me to do this during more exciting storms (barring power/cable problems), then please subscribe at the top of the home page and post a comment below.

My thought process with regard to this blog is for folks who don't have access to detailed, specific Norman information during storms. Because of my day job, I wouldn't be able to do this all the time, particularly during the day. However, I know that we look to the Web for immediacy, and I hope I can provide that immediacy with a focus on hyperlocal information.