I can only re-iterate what Dawn has posted. My son-in-law is a storm chaser and he told me that today's svr wx potential is one of the worst he's ever seen. Please please know where you and your family will go in case of being in a tornado warned area. If you live in a mobile home PLEASE abandon it and find shelter elsewhere is the wx looks threatening. After being in three tornados in my lifetime (born and lived in OK all my life) my family has a tornado shelter and we make sure to move our most valuable papers/medicines and the like to the storm shelter on days such as these. I'm praying for the best and preparing for the worst!

Another good link for those in Northeastern OK/Northwest Ar you might find useful

Here is a link that might be useful: National Weather Service Tulsa

Grannyjojo,

Thanks for sharing your info with us. Your son-in-law's words frighten me but in this case, I think it is good to be scared, if you know what I mean.

I do want to empahsize that on a day like today, especially if you are in the area with the 'high' risk, the only truly safe shelter is an in-ground tornado shelter or a safe room. This is not one of those days to seek shelter in the bathtub with a pillow or mattress over your head, unless it is your only option.

My dad and brother both survived tornadoes, and I've seen a couple in the air but never been in a building hit by one. I hope that's an experience I never have.

We keep supplies in our tornado shelter year-round, including a change of clothing and shoes for each person, beach towels and folding chairs, and a Rubbermaid tote full of flashlights, batteries, a first aid kit, candles, matches, bottled water, trail mix, etc. We tote our important papers and medicines out to it as well when conditions warrant. We always take our VFD fire radios so we can listen to storm spotters and emergency personnel.

Usually my DH and DS are out storm spotting while I am down in the hidey hole alone. We just put in a tornado siren at our local volunteer fire station (actually, our local electrical co-op very kindly installed it for us) which gives us one more way to help keep our local citizens informed.

I'll tell you what really scares me---when we drive into town and encounter all kinds of storm chasers gathering in town and plotting out their strategies in terms of which roads they will take and where they will position themselves to chase the storms. When I see that they are here, I have a strong urge to run home and get into the shelter even before a warning is issued.

The last time we actually had storm chasers on our road, a tornado crossed the Red River near us, touching down right at the river in an unpopulated area (flood plain). That's as close as I ever want to be to a tornado.

Dawn

Bumping this back to the top. Please, please keep a source of weather information near you this afternoon and evening, particularly if you live in the high risk area that SPC has outlined (note: this image will update throughout the day):

Also, if you have an iPhone, a new app came out last week that could be extremely handy for you (see the link below). It's called iMapWeather Radio, and it syncs with your phone's GPS to alert you instantly of any warnings that are issued for your location. I would especially consider looking into it if you live in an area that doesn't have good NOAA Weather Radio coverage. Unfortunately the Droid version isn't out yet, but from what I've heard it should be released eventually.

Here is a link that might be useful: iMapWeather Radio

The updated SPC convective outlook has expanded the high risk area to include southern OK and north-central north Texas. The text of the outlook also mentions the potential for multiple rounds of supercells to form along the dryline, so don't let your guard down if one round of storms passes by you, especially along the I-35 corridor. Even more unfortunately, it appears that later tonight these storms will grow into a large mess of rain, wind, and hail for you guys who have already seen way too much rain.

I want to post the following image, too, to drive home the point even further of how serious this could be. The percentages you see in the graphic depict the chance that a tornado will occur within 25 miles of any given location. On most days when severe weather is forecasted for our area, you will see these numbers anywhere between 5-15%. One of the only other times I've seen them use the 45% area was for the day that all those tornadoes hit Alabama and Mississippi last month.

Heather,

Thank you so much for all the info you're posting.

I know we all appreciate greatly every single bit of info we can get our hands on.

You gonna chase today? The hordes of Storm Chasers from Texas are moving up through Love County on I-35 right now. DS saw quite a few of them just now as he drove up to our house.

I'm on my way out the door right now to go sweep out my tornado shelter, air it out, and put some new supplies in the Tornado Kit. I hope we won't need to use it or them, but I'd rather be ready than not.

Dawn

Thank you for posting this information. I was just about to myself. Like others, I can't stress the seriousness of this situation enough. A 45% tornado probability is very rare and should be taken very seriously folks...warn your neighbors and friends.

I will most likely be chasing later this afternoon close to home. My fiance/storm chasing partner is working until 4pm today (He's the Grams forecaster on those outlooks), and I packed all of our necessary equipment into the car this morning. Despite living almost my entire life in Kansas and Oklahoma, I have never lived in ground zero for a day like today. I feel confident in my and my fiance's abilities to keep ourselves safe on the road, but we can't do much to protect our house or anyone else from the potentially ginormous hail and tornadoes. This is one day where I hope we get the forecast wrong!

Heather,

I hope y'all have a safe and successful chase.

I haven't lived even close to ground zero on a day like this myself, unless it was when I was too young to understand what was going on. I've been around tornadoes all my life though, as I am sure you have, and I know to respect their sheer power and potential for harm. I have helped with clean-up after tornadoes and other severe storms before and the amount of damage that can be done in the blink of an eye is awe-inspiring.

I don't remember a day since we've moved here that the weather forecast has made me feel as nervous as today's does. I feel like a cat on a hot tin roof.

The air feels and looks strange here today. Various people have described it to me as "prickley", "creepy" and "icky". Maybe we're all just imaging it, but I think what we're feeling is, somehow, the energy in the atmosphere around us. When that energy becomes unleashed, it will be a beast.

Finally, I've linked the webpage of the Fort Worth office of the NWS below. Many people who live along the Red River keep an eye on the weather in Texas, since weather does not respect state lines and goes wherever it will.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Fort Worth NWS Website

Dawn, Heather and others,
Thank you for keeping us on top of things. This is where I go to find out what's what with the weather. I feel like you do, Dawn, like a cat on a hot tin roof. Our cellar is ready, and I've been in touch with my family in the area to ask them to stay alert. Son and DIL and grand-kiddos are prepared to head to our place later this afternoon to wait it out, but I also warned them to stay put if it develops fast and right on top of us. If they can't make it safely, I'd rather them be in the closet in their house than out on the road.

Suzie