Associated Press

A band of thunderstorms is battering the Oklahoma City area and slowing cleanup operations in the southern suburb where a tornado killed 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes earlier this week.

The National Weather Service said Thursday that the storms are producing hail, heavy rain and high winds. A flash flood warning is also in effect for some areas.

The Weather Service says more severe storms are forecast for late afternoon and at night. It says tornados are a possibility.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Senate has unanimously approved a bill to tap $45 million from the state's Rainy Day Fund to help pay for tornado disaster relief.

The Senate voted 45-0 on Wednesday for the bill that directs the funds to the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management to aid in recovery efforts. State officials expect the money will be used to match federal money made available to affected communities.

Gov. Mary Fallin urged lawmakers to consider the bill, which is expected to be given final legislative approval Thursday in the House.

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — Gov. Mary Fallin says a memorial and prayer service will be held this weekend to honor Oklahoma tornado victims.

The governor's office says the service will take place Sunday in the tornado-ravaged community of Moore to remember the victims of Monday's massive tornado that killed 24 people and a May 19 tornado that killed two people in Shawnee.

Fallin's office says the service will be held at the First Baptist Church in Moore, though details were still pending Wednesday. It will be open to the public.

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — The mayor of the Oklahoma City suburb battered by a monstrous tornado says he is pushing to require safe-room shelters in all new homes.

Glen Lewis said Wednesday he will propose an ordinance in the next couple of days at the Moore City Council that would modify building codes to require the construction of reinforced shelters in every new home in the town of 56,000.

The suburb was also hit by a massive tornado in 1999 that followed nearly the same path as the storm Monday that killed at least 24 people.

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) — The Rogers County Election Board has voted to not certify results of a recent sales tax election after a resident filed a complaint alleging the county didn't give proper legal notice of the election.

Voters in Rogers County approved a 1-cent sales tax during a May 14 election. But a resident filed a challenge to the election results, saying the county didn't properly publish a legal notice of the election in a county newspaper before the vote.

Parents in a suburban Oklahoma City school district received a text message as an ominous tornado approached. Their children were being held at school until the storm passed or their parents picked them up.

Suddenly, parents had a gut-wrenching choice. Trust the safety of the school? Or drive frantically ahead of a massive tornado and attempt to take their children home?

The city of Tulsa is sending a contingent of workers to help with the recovery in Moore, including its coordinator for grants.

The city said Tuesday that the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency deputy director and the city's finance and grants coordinator are helping with communication efforts.

At the request of emergency managers, the city sent an urban search and rescue team to help with the search at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which collapsed in the tornado.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says U.S. officials are "going neighborhood to neighborhood" to make sure Oklahoma gets the help it needs.

Top lawmakers and officials say the federal government has plenty of money on hand to pay for recovery efforts in the devastating tornado that struck Oklahoma.

The government has more than $11 billion in its main disaster relief fund. Recovery costs in Moore, Okla., are expected to be a relatively small fraction of that amount. The devastating 2011 tornado that wiped out much of Joplin, Mo., use up about $750 million in federal disaster aid.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Historical Society is asking state lawmakers to postpone consideration of a museum funding bill so they can concentrate on tornado relief.

Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Historical Society, said Tuesday that a funding bill for the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture should be temporarily set aside following the devastation and loss of life in Moore and other parts of central Oklahoma in Monday's tornados.