It is a truth universally acknowledged that an Oklahoman in springtime is often in want of a storm shelter. Such was the truth last night. Storms - as predicted days in advance - lined up as far south as Mexico and moved northeast and plowed into central Oklahoma one after the other. It was a late night for all of us. As a trained emergency manager, I was monitoring all the official channels while texting back and forth with my son in college down in Ada. They had tornado warnings off and on for hours late into the wee hours of morning.
I’m up early this morning to gather information on the damage and it looks like Sulphur and Holdenville took it on the chin, but there were over 20 tornados in the central parts of the state. Sadly there are two confirmed fatalities, one was a four-month-old infant.
The closest damage was in the east metro near Tinker AFB. A church was damaged. South in Norman, there is damage at the casino and regional airport. I’m sure the damage reports will continue to come in all day, of or all week.
Today, I’ll be headed to Ada for my son’s final band concert (he graduates in a few weeks) so I’m sure to see some of the damage myself. I’ll hug my boy a little tighter and pray a lot harder for those affected by the devastation.
Glad your family is safe. Prayers for those who lost loved ones and property.