Well it was a rather tumultuous day of weather here in Oklahoma. Technically a couple of days. There was the tornado that wiped out almost 30% of the town of Joplin, Missouri a couple days ago. But then yesterday there were multiple tornadoes wreaking havoc on Eastern Oklahoma.
The great weather people here in Tulsa had been warning us since Sunday that Tuesday was going to be the worst day for the state, they were right! Storms began forming in far west Oklahoma earlier in the afternoon and they just swept across the state. Tornadoes touched down in many areas. The worst were probably in the Oklahoma City area where there are 5 confirmed deaths and more than 60 injuries.
Before that big tornado touched down however almost 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City a tornado touched down in the city of Canton, Oklahoma. The amazing thing is the tornado formed during a live local weather broadcast while a storm chaser had its camera pointed directly at it! Check out the incredible video of the tornado forming on live television.
Then later in the day the storms moved in on the Tulsa area. We spent about 90 minutes preparing things in case we had to take quick action. Gathering flashlights, packing a few neccesities in a small bag, gathering up a few days of everyone’s medicine into another bag just in case something happened to the house, putting on our hard soled shoes, and putting the harness on the four Rat Terriers. All the while keeping an eye on the TV.
The A on the map is Canton, Oklahoma. you can see where it is in relation to OKC and Tulsa.
One thing that really puzzles me about Oklahoma is the fact that so many places fail to plan for weather that hapens ALL the time. If you look around and check you will find the majority of houses in and around the Tulsa area have no basements, no storm shelters, no truly safe place to run and hide from a tornado. We sadly are no different. Of course I don’t take responsibility for that. I am from the Northeast, not Oklahoma! Give me the hurricane threat and occasional Nor’easter in New Jersey, or blizzard in Pennsylvania anyday. Those things usually give you a bit of notice. Lots of time to prepare, lots of time to figure something out to keep yourself safe. Tornadoes do not afford you that luxury. So, why then does every single house in Oklahoma prepare and have a basement or shelter built in to keep people safe?
We personally are in a double-wide trailer with my in-laws. Across the yard is my wife’s grandparents, also in a trailer. Our weatherman (The one I prefer to watch, anyway. Which are Dan Threlkeld and Julie Chin on KJRH.) actually said the day before yesterday that laying in a ditch is safer than staying in a trailer. It’s sad, but true. Our shelter is a tiny cinder blocked house wayyyyy across the yard. It was at one point my wife’s great grandmother’s house. Nowadays it is packed full of all sorts of stuff, it is tiny, dusty, and cramped. There is a small path that we made to get from the front door to a somewhat interior space, which is just a hallway. So, picture six adults, one of which is not very mobile, and four Rat Terriers in the tiny space I just explained, a space with no electric and no air conditioning.
Anyway, we spent about 45-60 minutes in that space tonight. Luckily for us the tornado that was on the ground took a right turn shortly before it got to us. It was moving in a line where it would have went right through us. Then about 2-4 miles away it turned and went just south of us.
It was probably the second closest call my wife and I have had with a tornado. The other time was on a day where I could actually see the top of the funnel where it came out of the clouds. That one passed just to the north of us.
Luckily we are safe. Everyone and the four dogs are all tucked away in bed.
Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone that might have been in the path of any of the tornadoes, and other stuff mother nature has been throwing at everyone over the past month or so. As Phil Esterhaus (Michael Conrad) used to say on Hill Street Blues, Let’s be careful out there.
Here is a video of a tornado taking out a tractor trailor in central Oklahoma.
UPDATE: Our morning news just reported that the driver of the truck in this video is OK and suffered only minor injuries!
This tornado set down near the town of Purcell which is south of Oklahoma City and Norma, Oklahoma.
These people are idiots, but it is some amazing footage of that same Canton, Oklahoma tornado that developed live on the news in the first video above.
