This is the tornado that ripped through Shawnee, Oklahoma yesterday afternoon. Today is apt to bring storms of a similar degree this afternoon. Parts of Shawnee were destroyed.
Norman typically finds a way to make it through the storms unscathed. Some say it's American Indian lore, others explain that it's simply a factor tied to Norman sitting in a valley. Either way, we usually get lucky. The storm that hit Shawnee hit us first. I was hanging in the basement of one of the residence halls for a good chunk of time, but there were none that touched down here. There were several funnel clouds with lowering and all that scary Twister type stuff, but we came out ok.
That tornado from the picture was a half mile to a mile wide. That's not a hide in your interior closet or bathroom and be ok kind of storm. That's one of the you must underground to make it through if it hits you head on kind of storms.
Give me a hurricane over a tornado any time. I grew up in Houston, so I've had my share of experience with both. Hurricanes probably do more wide spread damage, but you've got a week of warning to hunker down or get the hell out. Tornados... You might know there's an escalated risk for bad storms, but you're lucky if you've got 14 minutes of lead time to get underground IF you've got an underground place to go. They're no joke. No joke.
Welcome to life as an Okie. Stay safe people. Stay safe.
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