OKLAHOMA CITY — The remnants of a tropical storm that moved in from the Gulf of Mexico this week focused most of its fury Thursday on Oklahoma and Arkansas, pushing rivers to record-high levels and causing flooding as it crawled northward through the central U.S.
The storm claimed at least one life since it came ashore Tuesday in Southeastern Texas as Tropical Storm Bill before settling into a tropical depression: A 2-year-old Oklahoma boy was pulled from his father’s arms by floodwaters late Wednesday; authorities found the body of Jeremiah Mayer on Thursday afternoon about 30 yards from where the boy was last seen.
An estimated 10 inches of rain fell overnight on that area north of the Texas border and forced the partial closure of an interstate.
Farther north, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana were bracing for flooding throughout the weekend.
“The water was just flowing like a river down the streets,” Amber Wilson, the emergency manager in Ardmore, Okla., said after the overnight downpour. “It was so forceful that it washed away the barricades and pushed manhole covers out of the streets.”
