A powerful storm system barreled across Seminole County Tuesday and Wednesday, triggering flood warnings from the National Weather Service (NWS).

The system produced heavy rainfall beginning after midnight Tuesday and at press time, the 24-hour rainfall total for the Seminole area was 3.21 inches.

A flash flood warning was issued for Seminole County early Wednesday morning and remained in effect until about noon. The county stayed under a flood warning until 3:15 p.m. and at press time, a flood watch was in effect until 7 a.m. Thursday. A river flood warning was also issued by the NWS, lasting from 1:37 p.m. Wednesday until 8:51 p.m. Thursday.

The same storm system spawned a tornado about 60 miles southwest of Seminole. The NWS confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in the Pauls Valley area at around midnight Tuesday, causing damage to several homes and barns. Some horses were hurt in the storm, but no human injuries were reported.

Storms also reportedly damaged small buildings and trees in a line from Carroll County, Arkansas to the Branson, Missouri area. The storms dumped several inches of rain, leading to many flooded roads.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more deaths occur each year because of flooding than any other hazard related to thunder storms. The most common flood deaths occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous floodwater. Avoid driving through flooded areas and standing water. As little as six inches of water can cause you to lose control of your vehicle. Motorists are reminded to “turn around, don’t drown” when driving through flood prone areas.