Sunday, May 30, 2004

All Clear... The rotation of this storm went directly over our home but the funnel had receded just a few miles earlier.  It's the 4th round of tornadic storms which have come within 2 miles of our home in the last 6 weeks.  They are really awesome to watch but one has to be careful not to test them foolishly.  The previous storm occured early one evening as I was walking with my wife and dog.  Upon seeing the wall cloud, my wife scooted home and I decided to view the storm by walking out to the middle of a pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas river. It was an awesome sight. I could see that the wall cloud was going to cross the river about a mile north of me, but when the trailing end of the cloud swung south towards me, I put my dog and my Reeboks in high gear. I caught a lot of heck from my family when I got home.  It's nice to know they care about me, but  Norman, my Yellow Lab wouldn't make a good Toto. We know that many here stand praying against such storms, and they just dissipate before crossing the river.  Up to now every storm has failed to hold its energy upon approaching Tulsa over the last few years.  It's just been interesting to see them hop over Tulsa and then regain strength on the other side.  This one did. 2:07:53 AM