Definantly could have been Longer Range!! OK Tornado's

[lerch]

Definantly could have been Longer Range!! OK Tornado\'s

Well tuesday nite we had some big storms coming through OK, not a big deal really as most of us are more than used to it. OF course after seeing all of the damage tornados have done in Kansas everyone was paying a little more attention.

early in the evening there were a few false alarms and most of the storm seemed to die off. Just before midnite I was gettin tired of stayin up to make sure everything was okay so I decided to hit the sack. I checked the local news station just out of curiosity and the first thing I heard was "Tornado on the ground in El Reno"!!!!

Needless to say my attention was grabbed. After about a minute of listening to the news man i heard our towns tornado sirens sound off, this means get your skinny but somewhere safe cause some badness is gonna happen!! SO like any true red neck I run out to the front yard to try and see the twister. Now right here I wanna say that ya, i am a idiot but more importantly this is perfectly common in OK, trust me i wasnt the only genius outside in the pouring rain and 80mph wind trying to see a tornado at midnight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I couldnt see anything at first but there was a amazing low rumble just to the east. All of a sudden there were power transformers exploding in a line from the south to the north and you could follow the twister by the sound and the flashes. within about 2 min it was over and the rain pretty much stopped. A half hour later I was calmed enough to go to bed and that was it.

The next morning the damage was impressive to say the least. Around 15 big building had most all of the roofs ripped off and pretty massive exterior damage. The first tornado did the most damage but there may have been a second tornado even closer to my house. The road S CHOCTAW AVE runs north and south and was covered in up rooted trees as large as 2-3 feet in diameter.

All in all it was pretty exciting and it gave me a good reason to play around with google earth for a while. Here is the pic

take it easy
steve

 

[ss7mm]

Re: Definantly could have been Longer Range!! OK Tornado\'s

First thing you do is make sure all of the guns are in a safe place. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Then you can go outside /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

You'd better start putting some rocks in your pockets if you keep "having" to go outside in that kind of wind. You might end up in another state, although if it was blowing northwest that wouldn't be too bad. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Glad you and the family are all safe. Those things can do a lot of damage in a very little time.

 

[lerch]

Re: Definantly could have been Longer Range!! OK Tornado\'s

Funny thing about the guns is that when the first alarms went off earlier in the evening the first thing i did is take my 6br Cooper and put it in the safe!!

[ QUOTE ]
You'd better start putting some rocks in your pockets if you keep "having" to go outside in that kind of wind. You might end up in another state, although if it was blowing northwest that wouldn't be too bad.


[/ QUOTE ]

All i gotta do is turn sideways and i got a BC as high as Richards new bullets, wind cant touch me!!!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif IF i did take off trust me i would be doing my damndest to glide north

 

[Surveyor]

Re: Definantly could have been Longer Range!! OK Tornado\'s

I've seen a few when I lived in Michigan, but nothing compared to when I was stationed in Fort Sill, OK, and got to see the real thing. I swear the base debris cloud was about a quarter mile wide. Definitely mother nature's version of "Shock and awe"

When I asked the sergeant if the barracks had a tornado shelter, he indicated that the budget was tight during barracks construction, so it was between shelter and central air. "Sit here where its cool, soldier, and just watch the show."

Glad your safe, Steve.

 

[lerch]

Re: Definantly could have been Longer Range!! OK Tornado\'s

If anyone gets bored and wants to see some more pics check out http://newsok.com/photo/gallery/ and on STEP 2 Select 05/09/07 El Reno Tornado. All of those pics come from the path of the first tornado.

NC, ya they can be pretty intense to watch. I have seen a couple before but this was by far the closest, and i didnt even see it!!!!

thanks
steve

 

[abinok]

Re: Definantly could have been Longer Range!! OK Tornado\'s

Glad to hear you guys are ok!
Anybody want to calculate wind deflection for 80mph of left wind for 630yds, then 140mph right wind for 20yds?

 

[lerch]

Re: Definantly could have been Longer Range!! OK Tornado\'s

A little update on the weather in OK. My family owns some land on the South Canadian River just outside of town here and it is where me BJ do alot of hunting. Well last year I built a tower tripod stand that was a little over 30ft tall to the very top. We sat it up down on the river bend and could cover several hundred yards in every direction of river bottom land.

After the tornados and flooding we had last week i decided to go check on the stand after the flood waters receded. Upon inspection, the **** thing is gone!!!!! Theres is no trace of it, nothing!!!! I figured it would be washed over but to completely disapear i was amazed!!! The **** thing was 30ft tall, 15ft wide at the base, and wieghed over 600lbs and it is just gone!!!!

Needless to say that is the last time i put a stand up on the river bend.

steve