Like many Tulsans, I’m counting my blessings tonight. After an early morning storm blew through Tulsa packing winds of 100 mph and possibily tornadoes, the clean-up in my neighborhood is underway.
The weather alarms went off in my house shortly before 5 a.m. this morning. I’m a storm chaser, so the first thing I did (of course) was go to the back of the house to see what was going on. The tornado sirens sounded and then it hit. I could see power flashes near my house and the loud roar was unmistakable. Either a tornado or, at least, tornado strength winds were in my backyard. I headed to the bathroom to take cover.
After the winds died down, I joined my neighbors in the front yard, surveying the damage. I was lucky. One broken window, I lost a couple antenna on the truck (will have to replace those before the next chase), some slight roof damage and tree damage. My neighbors weren’t so lucky.
I left to get a cup of coffee. I knew I’d be in a much better mood if I could get my caffein fix. Fortunately the Quick Trip at 129th and 31st had power.
Thank goodness for mobile internet and my iPhone. I was still able to Tweet.
Many houses and businesses in our area were damaged. Power poles holding the main transmission lines into our neighborhood snapped and one line fell across Garnett blocking the traffic lanes. Trees were broken and uprooted blocking access into some parts of the neighborhood.
Both Tulsa Public Schools and Union Schools closed for the day.
I called the glass company to have the window repaired, got the chain saw and went next door to help Rochelle get some of the tree branches cut up that covered her yard and the driveway of the house next door. Her metal shed was in the neighbor’s yard and her trampoline ended up a couple hosues down. Her roof was damaged too.
The glass company showed up and fixed the window. I tackled the pile of limbs in my yard. I’m out of shape. I know that now.
Larry, my other neighbor, was surveying the damage to his home and began his clean-up activities. His glass patio table had been smashed against his house and we discovered that the shingles that went through my window, hit my truck and littered our yards were from his roof.
The tree trimming and roofing companies slithered in quickly after sunrise passing out business cards, capitalizing on the disaster. People drove by, looking at the damage. The lady across the street said, “I should charge them ten bucks for every picture they take of my house.” We laughed.
News helicopters hovered overhead.
The power is still out and probably will be until sometime Saturday. That’s okay. I have water. I have my laptop. I’m alive.
All of the debris can be cleaned up and repairs to our homes can be made. The important thing is that nobody was injured.
It could have been a lot worse.