The Joy of Living in Tornado Alley

I love Oklahoma's tornado season. In 1999, I was living in Washington and flew here with my fiancée to get married. During our layover in OKC, we were told that the flight to Tulsa was cancelled and they would put us on a bus instead. During this drive, I saw the aftermath of the F5 tornado that had swept through the area just three weeks earlier. Along the interstate, I could see the path this tornado took and how big it actually was. Both sides of this major interstate had deep dirt tracks along the grass from the tornado as it followed the road for several miles. Amazing. I am a firm believer that the reason Tulsa has grown is because it was built in one of the few areas that tornadoes destroy. Now I say this, but that doesn't mean we don't get them here. However, I do remember taking cover only once as a child. One time in 28 years is not bad when tornado warnings are on the news every year around this time. This is what we call 'Tornado Season'. In January, we had some tornadoes before the season even began, which hadn't happened in several decades. So why do I love tornadoes when they are so destructive? Well it's not the tornadoes I love, obviously that would make me a psycho-it's the weather that accompanies them.

Usually it starts with rain. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. From my experience, the rain usually gives up before the tornado forms. This is the part I love. My mother and I used to stand out on the porch and watch for them. We would hear the sirens in the distance and look for the wall clouds forming into tunnels. The weather would be calm, but dark. Gray clouds would cover the sky and the wind would stop. It's not like what you see in the movies. It's kind of peaceful at that time. And quiet. You don't hear the birds or animals, only the calm. And the feeling that surrounds you. Wow. It's kind of a warm stickiness, but not uncomfortable like the typical humidity here. It feels good. And you just watch. And listen. Of course, I've never been in the middle of the path. My accounts are from the sidelines. One time my mother and I were at Wal-Mart and just finished shopping. We came outside and as we were packing the car, my mother looked up and said, "Elizabeth, get in the car right now." I looked up toward her gaze and jumped in. That was the only time I saw her race home like that as she successfully outran a small funnel. Of course when we got home, we didn't take cover. No need. Instead we stood and watched, as we always did.

Tornadoes aren't the only thing I love about this season. We also have notorious thunder and lightening storms. Last month, I stood outside in the dark and watched the sky light up as if I was in an observatory watching it on film. Amazing. First a lightening patch here.Then another one there. The sky was clear and navy blue. Then lighting would streak through the sky and connected to each other like glass breaking in slow motion. And the sound. Wow. It wasn't scary, but it had power and I could feel it vibrate from the ground into my body. Tuesday night, it hailed so badly that at 3:00 am I was pulling my car into the garage. It hailed twice that night. Last night it stormed so hard that school was cancelled today in my district because the bus routes were so flooded. I don't live in the country. I live in town in the suburbs and in one of the major school districts. In all of my years here, school has never been cancelled due to rain. Now it's sunny outside and the puddles are drying up. That's Oklahoma for ya.