Oklahoma is notorious for bad weather. Tornadoes, yes. Rain, yes. But hail? Also, yes. Since President Clinton moved the National Weather Center of the United States to be located in Oklahoma in 1998, the weatherman have been ecstatic. Did you know that Oklahomans are CRAZY about their weather?? THEY. LOVE. IT. It is the thing to talk about when there is nothing to talk about. Families meal prep around mild weather days. When we are expecting weather, forget dinner. Heat up a hot pocket and get in the shelter! Meteorologists on the news do a jumpy dance in front of the radar and cry, “Here comes another super cell! Get inside! Clean out your storm shelters!”
While it is very entertaining and comical to watch the 5 o’clock news during a storm, there are also precautions an Oklahoman must take during the spring and fall. Bug out bags, bottled water, important documents in waterproof bags, a rain jacket, and a deck of cards(you never know!).
Wild weather season (tornadoes mostly) is expected in the spring when hot air from the south and the cold front from the north like to do a whirly twirly dance smack dab over Oklahoma. This causes much rotation, resulting in weird temperature changes, hail, flooding, and tornadoes–all within a matter of minutes!
We were expecting this very threat yesterday, August 31st. Weather that we primarily don’t see this time of year. But low and behold! We had a show! I was thankful to have left work 30 minutes early to get home before the torrential down pour and lighting that was to presume the rest of the evening. 3″ hail dropped just north of us, flooded streets welcomed college students wake surfing behind trucks.
As the storm was nearing our location, we enjoyed hamburgers and storm watching on our back porch with the news on in the background. These are the fun days. We expect thunderstorms and rain for the next 3 days. I am thankful for a few days off the job from watering the garden.
Home with Hope 