Stay Safe Lonewolf and Other Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle Folks

[donley2]

From here https://www.spc.noaa.gov/
A Major Severe Weather Outbreak is Forecast Today and/or Tonight
An outbreak of tornadoes, some potentially long-track and violent, is expected today into this evening over portions of northwest Texas into western and central Oklahoma. More-isolated but still potentially dangerous severe weather, including tornadoes, is possible in surrounding parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas.

High level risk (5 of 5) for severe weather today in western Oklahoma and parts of western Texas

For some historical perspective look at this page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...high_risk_days

Last one of these forecasts was two years ago.

[Atticus]

High level risk (5 of 5) for severe weather today in western Oklahoma and parts of western Texas

It's very scary and sad to realize there will be deaths today, related to this, even with the advance warning.

[donley2]

It's very scary and sad to realize there will be deaths today, related to this, even with the advance warning.

The one possible good thing is that other than Oklahoma City (which is sort of on the edge of the bullseye for this warning) there are a lot of not highly populated areas.

[polevaultpower]

My sister is in Tulsa and she says all of the schools are canceled, which they NEVER do. Hospitals are canceling all elective procedures.

She is spending the day

[lonewolf]

They don't call this Tornado Alley for no reason. I have had some near misses.
For some geographical/meteorological reason, the most destructive path of the major storms has repeatedly been SW to NE through the city of Moore, about 15 miles south of downtown OKC and 30 miles south of my home.
One exception. Several years ago, I watched on TV and stood in my front yard watching a big-un coming straight at me from the SW. One mile south, over Lake Hefner, it took a right turn, skimmed a residential area for a mile, dipped into a shopping center and demolished a liquor store, lifted, proceeded a half mile further east and destroyed a Baptist church, lifted, went another mile east and settled in to wreak major havoc in a historically affluent neighborhood.
75 years ago, when I was a kid on our Kiowa County farm. a tornado passed between our house and main barn, 100 yards west of the house, flattening/destroying several out buildings.
The chicken house was scattered for a quarter mile north, leaving an empty nail keg unmoved on the concrete slab floor.
The house was my grandfathers 1902 homestead house from when the Kiowa/Comanche Big Pasture was opened to homesteading. My parents moved to town in 1953. The house sat vacant until it burned down in winter 2014. Presumably lightning.
At homesteading, there was a family on every quarter section. When I was a child in the 1930s-early 1940, there was probably one family per mile.
In 2013, I drove the section line from I-40 to HIway 9. In that thirty miles, there are remnants of homesteads but I counted only three reasonably intact farm houses (including ours) The only occupied farmhouse was just off I-40 in Washita County.
Roads are better now. Farms have consolidated,farmers have moved to the small market towns with electricity, water and plumbing and are still only minutes from their farms.

[Atticus]

Are storm cellars a thing?

[donley2]

Are storm cellars a thing?

When I was growing up 40/50 years ago in southern Kansas we had a storm cellar on the farm. It was a dark, damp place with spider webs and the like and I never was too fond of having to go down there. When I was around twelve we added on to the house and built a basement. Remember multiple nights we slept in the basement because there had been tornadoes in the area and the tornado threat extended past time to go to bed. Major upgrade from the storm cellar.

[wamego relays champ]

When I was growing up 40/50 years ago in southern Kansas we had a storm cellar on the farm.

So did Auntie Em and Uncle Henry.

[DrJay]

For 1939, those was some pretty good special effects. (August 25th will be the 80th anniversary of its release.)

[wamego relays champ]

Maybe it has something to do with the young age at which most of us first viewed the film, but that scene really packs a wallop.