[_redbird_]

Originally Posted by okpondlady

BUT. I was raised in Oklahoma by a Grandmother who grew up here also. Before Doppler Radar. If it started storming in the evening... she went to the cellar. I spent MANY MANY nights in the cellar as a child/teenager. She had a bed and a lamp.

Yes!! We lived in southwestern portion of the state. And I remember very well those trips to the cellar with my grandparents! It was mandatory. Our property was hit by a tornado ~ picked up the barn and threw it a 1/4 mile, and they never forgot it.
So my grandparents and my great-grandfather always took to the cellar.

I love the memory of kerosene lamps and that cold musty smell. Since I was so little, I always went with them. Then my grandpa built an arbor at the top of the stairs and he would stand there and watch the storm like the sentinel.

Dogs were not allowed anywhere near us, because they believed lightning was attracted to dogs and any white colored clothing.

[Jammie]

Wow STillwater, that's scary!!! That's the problem with going to a shelter~you definitely have to leave before the tornado is that close. You didn't mention a siren~did they sound it late or weren't they using them at the time? OR was it like the "Spencer tornado" up here~the sirens weren't used. That tornado ended up leveling that little town and killing 6 (?) people. We watched that tornado form right out at Mitchell Lake and it just kept gaining in strength all the way over to Spencer. It caused a LOT of damage along it's path and it seemed to live forever.

[colleeng47]

Wow, y'all took my breath away with those stories. I'm not really afraid of tornadoes, but I am concerned about being on the road when they are forming. Somehow I just can't imagine myself abandoning my truck and lying in a ditch, which is the advice you get from the experts. But I know you're not supposed to try to outrun them either.

Our new storm shelter went in this weekend. I hope if we do have to use it that it's not for too long -- talk about claustrophobia!

[Goodpasture]

Drive straight at them, if they don't get you in the first few seconds you should be past them and home free

[HeatherDawn]

When I was young and dumb and drunk I agreed to go storm chasing with a buddy. His pick up was blown sideways off the county road. He knew I was really afraid of tornadoes so he told me that he drove off the road on purpose to scare me. Later, he told me that he had no control of the vehicle at the time.

When I was a kid, there was an F5 that hit our neighbor's houses up in Marland. It was a mile wide. I remember the family standing on the steps of the cellar trying to see the tornado but we couldn't. After a minute, we realized that our whole line of vision was the tornado. The horses were freaking out and running straight toward it. One of the neighbors went into shock and wouldn't move out of his yard. His pregnant wife had to go to the cellar without him. They had a litter of kittens that were skinned alive. Pigs were in the trees along with twisted metal. Some of the neighbors tried to run when it was too late and they were picked up and turned around then set back down in their car.

Tornadoes are nothing to laugh about. Friends usually make fun of me because wherever I am, if there is a tornado warning, I drop what I'm doing and get to shelter.

That being said, there is no reason to live in fear and I don't. The chances of you being hit are small but the potential damage is enough to take seriously. So, I live my life and I don't think tornadoes are a big deal. But, if Gary says to take cover, take cover. If you are underground, you will be okay. Material things don't matter that much.