An outbreak of tornadoes around Oklahoma City has killed at least a mother and infant whose car was grabbed by the twister, thrown in the air and smashed into the ground.

The tornadoes struck during the evening commute along Interstate 40, a major east-west highway for workers who live in the city’s suburbs.  The deaths happened along a portion of that highway.  At least 14 other people were injured.

Police officials were in emergency mode as the storms approached telling motorists to leave their vehicles, find ditches to lay in and “pray”.  One officer said the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highways made the drivers “sitting ducks”.

“We’ve got a nightmare situation going on right now,” a state Highway Patrol spokeswoman told CNN.

The storm even put the National Severe Storm Laboratory and the Storm Prediction Center on alert.  The “National Weather Center” is located on the campus of the University of Oklahoma and faced 80-90 mph winds.