Repairs still being made after June 15 storm that caused massive damage across Lawton

Editor’s note: The Lawton Constitution will count down the top five stories this week that impacted us in 2023. This is story No. 5.

The June 15 storm was one for the history books.

At least, residents hope it is, because most don’t ever want to see a storm of that magnitude again. The storm that hit the Lawton area that late Thursday afternoon left massive damage in its wake — due mostly to strong winds and chunks of hail that pounded down for what seemed like an hour but was only a matter of minutes. The hail, many pieces 2-inches in diameter and larger, left dents and holes in whatever they hit, in many instances compounding the damage because they hit with such force the ice bounced into the air again and hit something else. About 40 percent of the residential structures in Lawton sustained roof damage, insurance agents estimated.

For many residents, the most extensive damage occurred on vehicles unlucky enough to be out in the open when the storm hit, with hail causing deep dents on the tops and sides, and shattering or completely breaking out glass. For structures, the largest amount of damage was seen on rooftops where hail shattered shingles or left divots, or punched through to the decking, although numerous windows were broken, too.

Flooding rains closed some city streets, while winds uprooted trees and ripped down power lines and poles. There were reports that three tornados touched down, including one that emergency management officials confirmed at South Sheridan Road and West Lee Boulevard. A partial roof collapse at a commercial mall at West Gore Boulevard and Northwest 19th Street briefly trapped three people, while portions of West Lee Boulevard were closed for hours while PSO crews dealt with downed power poles.

The storm wasn’t the only one that hit that week. Three days before, a storm of equal force blew through northern Comanche County, with damaging winds and hail up to the size of tennis balls that damaged vehicles and roofs in communities north of Lawton. In fact, delays in getting roofers to homes and vehicles into auto and glass repair shops from the Lawton storm was due to Monday’s storm in the county.

It was bad, but not as bad as it could have been — after all, this is Southwest Oklahoma and springs tend to be stormy.

Larry Neal, a longtime Lawton insurance agent, said the storm of 2009 was a little worse. What made the June 15 storm notable was the widespread nature of the damage, he said.

“Very often, it (a storm) will clip off a part of town. This one was from one side to the other,” Neal said, of the damage track across Lawton.

Even then, the storm and resulting damage was inconsistent. Neal said there wasn’t a lot of damage north of Cache Road, but in the southern part of town, the damage track stretched from downtown to Great Plains Technology Center west of Southwest 52nd Street, and included paths down West Gore and West Lee boulevards. Neal estimated about 40 percent of the houses in Lawton sustained some damage, damage still being repaired.

While the sounds of hammering are not as loud as they were for most of the summer and early fall, roofers still are doing a brisk business.

“I’ve talked to one or two roofers, who said ‘we’re trying to do three a week,’ “ Neal said, of the work still going on in Lawton.

In some instances, homeowners with less invasive damage opted to wait until things slowed down before contracting for repairs. In other instances, lengthy wait times caused by the sheer number of claims mean some residents are just now moving to the front of the repair line (that is especially true with auto damage).

The damage forced changes for some entities in the community.

John Denney Playhouse on Northwest Bell Avenue was so badly damaged, Lawton Community Theatre had to move out of its longtime home, setting up offices at Cameron University and holding plays in McMahon Memorial Auditorium. Students at Cameron University had to work around roofing and repair crews, as well as landscaping crews through Summer and into the Fall semester as the university coped with more than $1 million in damage. Other entities, such as the City of Lawton and Comanche County, still are evaluating the damage to their facilities, officials said.