Join - Welcome - Thank You, --- My Night

I would like to start my post today by welcoming a couple of new blogger friends to my blog. 

 

 

Welcome EDS Warrior at http://rhiannenlouise.blogspot.com/ and

 Val at Golden to Silver Val  blog.

 

 

Thank you for joining my blog, please sit back and enjoy the ride.

 
 

Picture from KOCO Channel 9 News

Several of my friends asked if my family was okay after this 2^nd storm rolling through the OKC, Norman/Moore locations of Oklahoma.  The National Weather service gave all of us fair warning that Wednesday, May 29th through Friday May 31^st, to expect extreme/severe weather with the potential of devastating tornadoes.   Through the timeframe, local news stations kept local residents weather warned.  I believe this is what kept most Oklahomans alive and safe.  The National Weather Service, along with local news stations, advised Friday, May 31^st will be the worst of the worst, of all storms this week, and around 6PM all hell broke loose for us.  Hours before, I pulled the bug out bags, the large first aid kit with trauma supplies, guns, radios, phones, food, water, legal briefcase with all important papers, and the checkbook with cash, by the front door.  When my husband, Bulldog Man, came home, we loaded our truck with all the materials, and watched the television with radios on in preparation for bugging out.  Our son, Tank, came home and waited with us until it was time to bug out.  When the tornado changed course and started heading toward Moore and Norman, it was time to get the hell out of Dodge.  This storm was rated life threatening, meaning you either get below ground, or get out of the area fast.  We don’t have a storm shelter because we rent this home.  We grabbed the animals and crates, locked the house, and bugged out of our area, heading south toward a town called Purcell.  Based on experience we knew not to take the Interstate (35) out of town, we jumped on US 77 heading south.  We were safe and out of our area, 25 miles away, parked in a parking lot of a Wal-Mart in the town of Purcell.  We deliberately placed our truck facing our town in an attempt to watch things happening in a safe location.  My husband and son went in to Wal-Mart to use the public facility and pickup food (snack while waiting).  When they returned, the news alerted everyone the storm had increased in size, approximately 70 miles across the OKC, Moore, Norman, and Purcell areas.  This meant it was heading once again right at us and we were sitting in the Wal-Mart parking lot thinking we were safe, instead we were sitting ducks.  The tornado horns went off immediately, we could see cones dropping from the sky, and we were on the run once more.  This storm was so large, and constantly changing direction, that you just couldn’t keep up with all the information being fed to you over the radios.  We immediately got the heck out of the parking lot and headed this time right for I-35.  We were told the storm was crossing 77 and now heading east south east.  So we thought okay, were going to try to get home via I-35.  We were safe, drove to I-35, and hopped on the Interstate for only 8 minutes, when we could see the storm getting bigger, and the outer bands were blowing wind very hard; cars were shaking and being blown in their lanes while traveling I-35.  Suddenly, hail started coming down, pea size, then the rain started coming down hard, but you could still see out of the windshield.  My husband and I looked at one another and stated at the same time, “We need to get off of the interstate at the next exit and head the other direction away from this hail and hard rain”.  We found the next exit, took the loop off the highway and got back on the loop to head south bound on I-35.  As we merged onto I-35 southbound, the hail pounded harder on our truck and increased in size.  This time the hail was golf ball size, the rain made in almost impossible to see, the wind was terrible, and our truck was being blown from side to side.  We didn’t know if we were running from the outer band of this massive tornado or running into another tornado.  We couldn’t see anything around us.  This was the first time I was scared to death, and didn’t think we would make it through the hell we were going through.  We drove 70 mph for about 25 miles dodging vehicles, hail, water, and a drop off, right of the side of I-35 until the hail slowed down, changed in size, and disappeared.  That was about the time my cell phone rang, and my dear friend Gail, from At the Farm blog called me to make sure we were okay.  My finger automatically turned the telephone on, I took a deep breath told Gail let me call you back; we need to get to a safe place. I called my dear friend Gail back after checking on everyone in the truck, the animals, and the truck.  We all were fine, the truck made it through. Gail must have thought I was a basket case, I was so stressed, I could finally take a deep breath and I just lost it over the phone and started balling.  Once I calmed down, I could talk.  I told Gail we were okay, we were going to wait here for a while, and then head back to our home, hoping the house was still standing and in one piece.  I asked her if she wouldn’t mind letting all my Blogger friends know we’re okay.  I was really concerned for those living in and around the Tulsa area…………Thank You Gail for updating everyone of our status.  A while later, we started driving the back roads to get home; dodging fallen wires, debris and flood waters.  We eventually made it to where we live, our house was standing.  It had some roofing shingles missing and everything on the back porch was blown all over, several of the big trees have branches broken.  The property had about 1 inch of water standing all over it.  I called Gail back to let her family know we were home and okay.

 

The moral of my story, don’t expect the tornado to go from west to east, it will change course, and who knows, it may head directly for you. 

 

God Bless Oklahoma!