Our state of Oklahoma is famous for it’s ever- changing weather. It gets especially temperamental during the spring season. Most of us have witnessed tornadoes touching ground, felt the gust and the strong winds, and seen the lightnings slashing the sky in halves. We don’t panic when we hear the sirens going off after all we know exactly what to do.

But it’s never simple and easy. Every year a neighbor loses his/her house, or a relative is injured. We watch on TV as devastating images flash across the screens, and we know that our neighborhoods are forever changed when a Tornado touches ground!

Oklahoma is among the Top 10 States with Deadliest Tornadoes. Do you know which tornado we are talking about? Do you still hear people referring to it when they start talking about the tornado season?

It’s the Woodward Tornado, F5 that killed nearly 185 and injured over 1,000 people- it all happened on April 9, 1947. A few days earlier a major storm developed in the Pacific, forming 6 tornadoes near Amarillo, TX, and in two days it circled around to Woodward.

Though we had had several strong tornadoes since then, costing billions of dollars in damages, Woodward Tornado is the only one to reach F5 in Oklahoma. Tomorrow is the first day of spring which usually means heavy storms and some tornadoes, so we wanted to share these safety tips with you!

  1. Have a plan- know who to call.
  2. Listen to weather reports.
  3. Learn about shelters available at work and in your town.
  4. Make a decision whether to stay put or to get out of the home.
  5. Always avoid windows if you are hiding in an apartment.
  6. If you are in a hospital go to a basement on the lowest level.
  7. If you are out in the open and there are not buildings lie flat on the ground protecting the back of your head with your hands.

For more tips and safety guidelines you can visit Red Dirt Ready to help you prepare for the tornado season!

Do you have any safety tips that you want to share with us? Let us know and we will add them to our list!

 

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