Emily B. Thinks

I survived the first round of severe storms/tornadoes that hit Oklahoma this weekend.

I was lucky enough to get home Friday afternoon just in time for a tornado to touch down in Norman, where I live.  I don’t have any rooms with all interior walls, so I thought I’d be smart and stuff myself in a 2x3ft closet in the middle of my house that does have all interior walls.  I will never be doing that again.  For the following reasons:

1) If I’m ever under a tornado warning again, I will not be alone.  And two people cannot fit in that closet.  So we will either not be in my house or we will be in my guest bathroom in the bathtub with a mattress over us just like Gary England taught me when I was little.

2) That closet is way too small.  Way.  Too.  Small.

3) I could see out my back door from where I was.  I feel as though you should not be able to look outside if you are hiding from a tornado.

4) CELL PHONES DON’T WORK IN TORNADOES.  For some strange reason, the only people who could get my texts and I could get theirs were my brother’s and sister-in-law’s, sometimes.  Talk about being freaked out.  Alone, in a box, during a tornado, with no way to contact basically anyone.  Never again, my friends.  I’m getting a landline tomorrow.

5) I would also like to note that I will never again listen to Mike Morgan during a tornado warning.  When you say things like, “if you look at the top right corner of your screen,” “Highway 77 and Robinson (when there’s technically 2 77 and Robinson’s)”, and “the tornado is…uh….here,” I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE SAYING BECAUSE I AM NOT WATCHING YOU.  I AM HIDING FROM THE TORNADO THAT YOU CAN’T SEEM TO FIND.  Scary Gary is my main man, sorry ‘boutcha KFOR.

6) Hiding from a tornado by yourself in a house that really does not provide any protection whatsoever is probably one of the most terrifying experiences I’ve ever had, and I do not wish to experience it again…pretty much ever.  I think I’m going to look into how much a storm shelter costs.  No joke.

Call me dramatic, but holy freaking wow, scariest moment of my life.

Especially when I could SEE and HEAR the swirling, howling wind of a tornado somewhere near me but the meteorologist on TV couldn’t find it.  Dudes.  DUDES.  So scary.

I waited out the remainder of this weekend’s storms in the comfort of my parents house in south Edmond.  And although there were no more severe storms in central OK, I’m still glad I went there as opposed to staying home ALONE the rest of the weekend.

Thoughts and prayers to the people of Woodward, OK.  They got hit the hardest in Oklahoma, and the tornado that hit after midnight Saturday/Sunday knocked out all but one of their sirens, thus their only warning was if they happened to have the TV or radio on.

Also sending thoughts and prayers to those affected in Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, and those in the storms’ wake today.  This is scary shiz, and I don’t wish this kind of weather on anyone.  Plus…had the predictions been right about location, all of that devastation could have been right here at home, and I can’t even imagine having to deal with that.

It’s officially tornado season in Oklahoma.  Word.