Tornado Season

Howdy from Oklahoma! 

As we move into April and May, the thoughts of Sooners turn to tornadoes.  If you happen to live in the tornado alley - a wide strip stretching from Lawton northeast through Moore, Harrah/Jones and up to the turnpike - the thought of April and May turns your stomach. 

This is the area of the killer tornadoes, and the largest tornado ever recorded.  The May 3, 1999 twister killed, maimed and destroyed, leveling a good part of the cities of Moore and Midwest City.  I rode that one out in the closet, with an O.U. football helmet on my head and a heavy winter coat on my back.  Shortly thereafter a storm shelter went into my garage, where it came in handy during the May 9, 2003 tornado that took the same swath across Oklahoma.

This is just a reminder that it's time to prepare.  If you have a shelter, you may want to move your valuables, pictures, computer back-ups, etc. into it until the dangerous months have passed.  If you haven't taken digital pictures of the property inside and outside of your home, now would be a good time.  It's really easy!  Most importantly, have a disaster plan.  Know where you and your family will go in the event of a disaster and it's always a good idea to put a few emergency items in a backpack in case you need to grab it in a hurry.

Here's hoping that we will all stay safe this year - We need a little downtime!