Oklahoma towns hard hit by tornadoes begin long cleanup after 4 killed in weekend storms

SULPHUR, Okla. (AP) — When a monster nighttime tornado came roaring into the southern Oklahoma town of Sulphur, Sheila Hilliard Goodman, a grandmother and casino worker, hunkered down inside Raina’s Sport Lounge with about 30 other customers in the popular downtown hangout.

The roof of the bar collapsed Saturday as other brick buildings down the block crumbled. Family members who arrived Sunday to search for her learned she was the only one inside who didn’t survive.

“She loved her family, loved to cook,” said her cousin Wes Hilliard, who confirmed Monday that Goodman was one of the four people in Oklahoma, including an infant, who lost their lives in the storm. “She lived a good life. She was an amazing person who loved big.”

The storms, part of an outbreak of severe weather across the middle of the U.S., also left at least 100 others injured, authorities said. The deadly weather in Oklahoma followed dozens of tornadoes that raked Iowa and Nebraska on Friday, killing one person.

At least 22 tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma, the most powerful of which ripped through Holdenville, Marietta and Sulphur, said National Weather Service meteorologist Rick Smith.

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