Severe Weather
I have lived in Oklahoma for nearly 10 years now but there is one thing I have yet to acclimate to — the weather. Here, weather is big news. On the local news broadcasts, weather is the lead story most of the time.
And of course tornados are big news. Living in Oklahoma, you can expect 2-4 nights a year (usually in April and May) that your entire family sits glued to the TV watching the weatherman track incoming storms. You stare at radar maps and listen to predictions about which cell has tornado potential, which ones are heading your way, and which suburbs should be hiding in a closet waiting for the worst. It can be quite surreal.
Tonight was one of those nights. Not too bad as these things go, but I rushed out of work to the sound of tornado sirens and constant, pre-empted radio coverage of the growing threat. Traffic was horrible and gave me plenty of time to watch and photography the evening storm. I watched as the storm slowly moved west to east as I drove right under it. Rotating clouds, ever lowering with tornado potential clearly evident. That was followed by heavy rain and hail. On one part of the road, the piled hail was more than six inches deep on the roads, rooftops, and grass. Several drivers got out of their cars to free spinning wheels. I have never seen that much hail accumulation.
That said, nothing serious developed in the area and I arrived safely home to my family. All that remains are a few photographs and the knowledge that a few more nights like this are in store.