I still can't believe it as I am sitting here, warm and comfortable, at the Red Cross shelter, where me and my family are gathered, along with dozens of other people.
Things like this aren't supposed to happen in the middle of February; I mean, come on! It's technically still winter!! Tornado season isn't supposed to start for at least two more months, according to the calander; however, tell that to Mother Nature! I think she done screwed up bad!!
Yesterday, tornadoes rocked our area due to a strong upper level low pressure; the ingredients came together to produce the wild weather we had yesterday. At last report, eight people were killed, and dozens injured, some seriously.
Our home was one of those affected. It's still standing by the grace of God; however, it sustained heavy damage, so the Red Cross is helping us until they can find us a temporary place until repairs can be made to our house. It may be several months, but at least we still have our home; others haven't been as fortunate.
We knew the day before that this would happen. according to Noaa, the National Weather Service. The ingredients were right for a juicy springtime pattern; tornadoes were forecast to hit somewhere along the Central Plains (Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas), and sure enough, that is exactly what happened.
When we saw the skies turning dark sometime in the early afternoon, we knew that the weather was fixin' to get mighty interesting. I just grabbed my husband and the kids, and we all headed to our underground storm cellar, where we waited out the storm and prayed like thunder!
I think God must have heard our prayers because we're still alive (shaken, but still living), and our house is still standing. It did have damage, but it's not busted up in a million tiny pieces; in time, it will be as good as new!
And none of us were injured. Now Grant (that's my husband) does have cuts and bumps, but he's otherwise okay. None of our kids or the pets were injured; we're all sitting here at the shelter, wondering, waiting to see what is going to happen next.
My name is Erinn Wilson. I live right smack dab in the middle of Edmond, Oklahoma, where the tornadoes hit. As I said earlier, eight lost their lives in the storm, and dozens of people were reported injured, some seriously. I have lived in Oklahoma all my life, so I should be used to tornadoes.
The truth is, you never get used to tornadoes. Those sirens have their own built-in chill factor, and when they start wailing, you'd best get to shelter; tornadoes are nothing to mess around with!
The best level of defense against these monsters of the skies is to get to underground shelter (preferably a basement or if you don't have one, a storm-ready shelter or to the lowest room in your house), away from any doors or windows, preferably in a bathtub, with a mattress covering you.
And pray. Pray like there's no tomorrow.
I've said plenty of prayers in my lifetime. I guess this is the reason why Grant and our kids (Thena, Tobey, Tyler, and Trista) are still alive, even after all of the tornadoes we've experienced. We've become storm-ready, and we know what to do when skies turn green (or black) and the winds start to pick up.
It's all part of the territory in living in Oklahoma.
You expect this more in the spring; you don't expect this now, in the dead of winter. The weather has been getting stranger and stranger with each passing year.
Storms are forming earlier, and they are becoming deadlier. It's beginning to become harder to tell one season from the next anymore; just before we had the tornadoes, we were enjoying mild temperatures, with temperatures in the seventies; then *Boom*! We get hit with twisters. In winter!!
Now we have to pick up the pieces, start over. Just keep us in your prayers; I will be writing from time to time to let y'all know how we're faring. It won't be easy, but we have God on our side; and with God, we can't go wrong! All we have to do is hold onto our faith and know that He will get us through this time!
~Sincerely, your friend in Edmond, Oklahoma, Erinn Michaela Wilson. :(
