A severe weather system moved though much of the state on Sunday, Feb. 26. This system produced several tornados causing damage to several towns and power outages to others.

Cities in Kay County were prepared for the likelihood of a tornado touching down as Ponca City, Blackwell, Newkirk and Tonkawa sounded their sirens.

Of those cities, the City of Tonkawa experienced a citywide power outage that continued into Monday, Feb. 27. This outage resulted in the closures of Tonkawa Public Schools, Northern Oklahoma College (NOC), and Bright Beginnings Childcare.

Tonkawa Mayor Ken Smith declared a State of Emergency on Monday as the damages caused by Sunday’s storms also resulted in problems with the city’s water wells.

As such, residents and businesses were ordered to conserve water until this declaration has been lifted.

The City of Tonkawa was in contact with OG&E and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) on restoring power to the city.