Today will be an anxious day around this part of Oklahoma. I suspect people are going to be more skittish and weird than they were yesterday. It's hard to believe tomorrow will be four years...

Jennifer, I was just thinking that, and Chris and I were talking about that (via text, since he was at work) yesterday. It does not even seem like it has been 4 years. For the families and friends of the ones lost that day, it must have been such a painful 4 years. Time heals, but sometimes it heals so slowly. Communities heal, but they're never the same.

We are so far away from y'all and the risk that day was more in your area than ours, so I was watching it unfold on The Weather Channel in real time, which was absolutely horrifying. They kept cutting in with live reports from reporters on the ground, chasers and OKC TV mets, and it was so obvious that something horrific was unfolding. They were showing someone's helicopter footage, which was even scarier to see. I remember yelling at people on the freeways to get their cars off the roads and seek shelter---as if they could hear me yelling in my living room. I know that I cannot even imagine what it was like to be there and to experience it in person. An event like the May 20, 2013, Moore tornado made me believe that OK building codes need to be rewritten to mandate either an in-ground tornado shelter or safe room be a part of each and every new building constructed, including all residential structures.

Early in the May 20th event as it all began to unfold, I went to find Tim and Chris, who were in Tim's office/TV room and had been watching a movie....by the time I went in there to alert them that horrific weather was unfolding, they already knew it and had switched over to TWC as well. We cannot pick up OKC TV stations down here, so mostly watched on The Weather Channel, and I watched News9 and other OKC channels on my laptop, until our local CBS affiliate's evening news began. It seems like they pretty much had wall-to-wall coverage by then. When the word of the search for the missing children at the schools reached our ears, we were stunned, and hoping for a miracle. We all know the miracle didn't occur for everyone.

To this day, the video of the aftermath is stunning---no matter how often you see it, it is devastation on such a wide scale that it is hard to comprehend that it is real. No one city should have to suffer repeated tornadoes the way that Moore does. There has to be a geographical reason the wrong conditions come together to hit Moore over and over again. Someday the scientists will be able to explain why.

I've always been grateful that Chris wasn't out storm chasing that day. A few days later, on May 31, 2013, he was in El Reno chasing. He was on the same road where we lost Tim Samaras, his son and Carl Young. That's the same storm that rolled over TWC's Mike Bettis and crew's vehicle and injured some of them.

At some point before the storm hit the storm chasers, Chris' radar cut out and he recognized the storm was worsening and turning, and he was smart enough to shut down the adrenalin rush and realize he needed to get out of there pronto, for which I've always been grateful. He called me on his cell phone and I quickly got online to view the radar and other chaser reports and got him out of there.....it was a very harrowing hour for us as I tried to guide him first west to escape the El Reno tornado, and then south to get back home again. He was in blinding rain and hail and strong wind and kept asking me if I was sure that I had him headed the right way. I was---and I had to be, because it was a dreadfully dangerous situation and I wanted my son to come home alive and well. While he and I were working together to get him around all the tornadoes that day, Dr. Forbes was already telling us on TWC that they had lost touch with Mike Bettis and that something had happened. I listened as they reconnected, but I didn't tell Chris.

By the time Chris got home (which wasn't easy because large swaths of I-35 were closed due to multiple tornadoes), he knew about the chasers who were killed--and I didn't know, and he didn't want to tell me, but he did. With the May 31, 2013, El Reno storm we all were in so much shock still from the Moore tornado of May 20, that at times it didn't even seem real or possible for the OKC area to be getting hit again so soon. In a lot of ways, it still is mind-boggling.

Personally, it is my fervent wish that we never have another tornado month in this state like May 2013.

I was hoping that the El Reno storm would put an end to Chris' storm chasing, but it hasn't. However, he has cut back a great deal, and I'm grateful for that. He also tries very hard to maintain good situational awareness. I remember when I heard his voice on May 31, 2013, and he told me he was in a dicey situation, had lost his radar feed in his Jeep and needed to get out of there---I heard a fear in his voice I've never heard before or since then. That sort of fear can be a good lesson. Nowadays, when he chases, he usually does so much closer to home where he knows the roads a lot better, and I'm both glad and relieved, but I'd be happier if he'd give up chasing altogether.

Dawn

Re: Code enforcement of underground shelters

My memory is vague. The topic wasn't something I actively searched out, but I overheard bits and pieces of conversations. Over the years my mind has created a final conclusion on the matter, but it is speculation.

I do not need to explain to you and Tim why closets are required beneath stairs, but that those closets cannot be used. It means saving the lives of everyone on the second floor in case of a fire.

I have heard of many different mental machinations for devious deceptions from homeowners, property owners, business developers, contractors and - yes - even engineers (but not as many engineers comparably). In short, the blueprint was only for code enforcement. Each had their own way of side-stepping inspections or wait for the inspection before putting in their real plans.

My suspicion is that the homeowners/contractors would devise something with a greater probability of hazards from the actual underground shelters than the probability of death from storms or tornadoes. For this reason, and perhaps costs, it's never been implemented in my opinion. Perhaps, government officials diverted funding and attention to early warning systems, instead.

bon

We've stayed cloudy and cool. Last time I looked there was another half inch in the gauge. But, there's thunder now and I looked at radar. There's a long line of storms pointed at Tulsa. Looks like we COULD have hours of storms and rain. I'm hoping since it stayed cool we will not be severe.

It has been raining here off and on, sprinkles and downpours, since this morning, and I got a month's worth of rain in 24 hours. I am glad to have 3.5 inches,especially since it came without wind and hail or a tornado, but the yard is half flooded, and I won't be working in the garden this cool weekend as I had planned. Hope all of you get the rain you need without anything else.

Michelle

Wichita County, TX

Nancy, mother nature is after you again. You ok?

Rain is good Michelle!

It will be interesting to see how many inches all of us end up with, huh!

Round 2 for this evening is here.

I just got in from a school function and am SO happy everyone was chill and relaxed this evening. Luckily it's just raining lightly, thundering and lightning. Nothing serious.

Dawn, I'm not an over anxious person about tornadoes (although I should be), so I wasn't too worried on May 20 early on. For some reason Tom was off work that day and he stopped by my office. I asked him to pick Ethan up at the elementary school and go on home. As soon as he walked out the door, neighbors and friends (who were stuck at work) started calling me, asking if I could pick up their children. So, I told them to call the school and that Tom would be there very soon. I left a few minutes later and stopped by the bank across the street. At that point, the feel was ominous and I became worried. I was 5 minute away from home. We lived across from Earlywine Park at the time in Hickory Creek. When I got home, I had various children in my house and crammed them all into our walk-in pantry. I, being the true Okie that I am, went to the back deck to watch. It seemed like it was just so close. It was actually about two miles away (taking out our piano teacher's neighborhood). Then the power went out and the children were whining about being hot and cramped. I gave them popsicles and they ate them in the dark pantry.

The weirdest thing was how quiet it was after. We had a big beautiful "southern plantation" style front porch. I sat out on it and watched a convoy of about 500 emergency vehicles zoom quietly down 119th street (off of I44) from various towns.

We were able to get out of our neighborhood and go to our church building, which was already going into "relief center" mode. People were calling from other countries wanting to interview the pastor. Random people showed up, but the saddest was a woman who couldn't find her granddaughter--a student at Plaza Towers. When she told me the age of her grandchild, my heart sank. I had already heard about the children of a certain grade who died in the basement. Her granddaughter was that age. I didn't tell her that, though. We made some phone calls for her and eventually some official-looking people showed up to escort her to another church. Later I found out they were gathering the family of the children there. It really was just a terrible night. Then, on May 31, our church was hit--the roof ripped off. The relief center was moved to the gym.

Anyway. I was able to help more with that one. The May 3, 1999 one kept us trapped in our neighborhood for a couple of days. Wow. Ethan wasn't even born then. Our son, Lane, was still alive.

I'm rambling.

Think it's going to be a long and very dark evening. Lost electricity about half an hr ago--everywhere! Can't see anything outside... takes a lot to get me in the house, but I'm IN!

Dawn and Jennifer....heartbreaking hearing about it--yes am sure that's something one doesn't forget.

I have been watching all the rain storms all day. There's some hugely impressive rainfall totals. Not here. There's flooding. Not here. The NWS still seems to think we'll get rain here overnight. No one in our house is feeling very hopeful about that.

We've been watching storms coming sort of from Michelle's direction, or from somewhere between her county and our county, and cross into OK for two days and nights now. They move through Jefferson and Stephens County and miss most of Love County. The far NW corner of our county has gotten the edge of some of the storms and has had some good rainfall. We've watched tornado warnings (sometimes including far NW Love County) move through pretty much every county around us, but not here. I don't want those tornado warnings, hail and strong winds, but I'd just about kill to have the rain.

Nancy, We've had a whopping 0.12" today. It is depressing.

Y'all all need to be careful because that much rain can drive snakes up out of the dark recesses of your property looking for higher, drier ground. And, remember that many fungal and bacterial diseases often follow rain, so there's that. Rain is sort of a mixed blessing for gardeners.

H/J, You are a true Oklahoman---standing out on the deck to watch! I can just picture Tom picking up all those kids and shepherding them to the safety of your home. I am sure their parents are forever grateful. I can picture the popsicle party in the walk-in pantry and think that was a perfect way to cool off the children and keep them busy as danger rambled along just a couple of miles from y'all. It must be a horrible feeling to see it unfolding right there in your own community.

There's nothing wrong with rambling---to me, there's nothing like hearing first-hand stories from people who were there. The news coverage just doesn't really get to the heart of the stories of real people, which is the part I want to hear....in a disaster that big, the news reporters mostly focus on numbers, and dramatic shots of destroyed homes and such. I'm always wondering about the experiences of real people---how they protected themselves, their families, their pets, etc.

Isn't it crazy to think that Ethan wasn't born yet? And, you still had Lane. I'm so sorry you lost him. I know it is a type of loss and pain I cannot fully understand because I have not experienced it, but whenever you mention him, my heart sends you hugs. Who could have guessed, way back in 1999, what life had in store for you and your family in the future? Who could have imagined that Moore would get hit over and over again by tornadoes? I don't understand why it happens, but have learned from watching that surely there's no community in OK better equipped to handle it---people there all help each other and pull together to recover and it is amazing to see it happen over and over again. It sort of seems like it has been so much longer than it actually has been, timewise. When we talk about 1999 or 2003, they seem like just yesterday. Even 2013 seems like it was just a short time ago. We moved here in 1999, but I feel like we have been here forever. Maybe that happens when you find your forever home and your heart knows it has found the place it wants to be and the place that it belongs.

In an eerie reminder of May 3, 1999, Tim's phone is ringing tonight with coworkers who've seen just enough weather news in Texas that they're calling to see if we've been hit here at our house by tornadoes, strong winds, tons of lightning, hail, flooding, etc. It is so kind of them to call to see if we're okay. I wonder if they are disappointed to find out that every thing weatherwise that's happening is missing us? One of them was calling Tim while sitting in the dark in his house south of Ft. Worth because he lost power to high wind---not hail or rain or anything else---just wind.

I'm getting burned out from watching the rain fly right by us. I'm tired of worrying about it, watching the radar, hoping for rain, dreading hail, etc. I'm over it. It isn't going to rain. We aren't going to flood. The garden is going to go on looking dry and pitiful while I rack up big water bills trying to keep it alive. The snakes, when they see me, will start fleeing down the big cracks in the clay ground like they always do. The doors and windows of the house will start sticking as the clay contracts. To keep Augustus (the tom turkey) happy and to prevent him from standing in his water dish on hot days, I guess I'll keep making puddles for him in the driveway or buy him a wading pool or something because Mother Nature apparently doesn't care that the turkey has to have cool puddles of water to stand in on hot days. I understand that's my fate for this year. Hot. Dry. Not enough rain. There's a bright side to being hot and dry---tomatoes and melons, for instance, will have incredible flavor because the rain isn't watering down the flavor. Certain diseases that favor wet and humid conditions won't pop up in the garden. I won't have much mud in the mudroom, but may have dust instead. The two rainy years of 2015 and 2016 have made me soft and whiny. I got used to having rain fall from the sky. I need to stop expecting it and then I won't be disappointed.

Dawn

Yuck, Nancy! I hate it when the power goes out!

I'm sorry, Dawn. I've only been a "real" grownup for a few years (by "real" grown up I mean one who is concerned about the weather), and hate worrying about the weather. Often rain misses us in our little area. It's not Moore, it's not Norman, it's not OKC--it's just a weird area that gets missed by rain very often.

Maybe June will be a crazy wet year for you. I do remember some years like that. But because it was before I was a "real" grownup, I don't remember the years. Maybe 1999? OR 2002? Trying to think back...think back when we had lots of rain in JUNE.

We got one hell of a light show here tonight. I was at work, and there was nothing going on, so we just got to sit and watch. Amazing. And HUGE amounts of rain. I won't be able to check the rain gauge until tomorrow (and see if any more limbs came down), but there was so much street flooding, and rain so that I couldn't see across the parking lot. Blinding. But the lightning...beautiful and scary at once. Looked like there were lots of strikes around too. We have been under a flood warning.

So thankful we all have dodged the terrible predicted weather. Now can it warm up and rain 2 inches per week for awhile.

Woke up to 45 degrees and 2 drops of rain.

I just hope everyone in the affected areas are safe and sound. The severe weather early in the week missed us by a few miles. And since the dry line has been east of us. Judy at Leedey spent a few afternoons and evenings in the cellar. She fell down the stairs Thursday so nursing a swollen ankle now. Know her sister around Sulphur had around 6.5 " last night and still raining. Her Granddaughters grandmother on her mothers side lost most of her place in the Elk City storm. So everyone for a large area will be cleaning up, repairing and rebuilding for awhile. Everyone around here will be repairing the damages from the blizzard for sometime. There is still some power outages. And several poles still down. And the hail storms have damaged a lot of roofs and vehicles but we have missed the tornadoes fortunately.

Hazel, I remember nicely wet years (not crazy wet) down here in 2002 and 2004. It was wonderful, except that in May/June 2004, the rain all fell at the end of May and in early June and watered down the flavor of our huge tomato crop horrifically---they had no flavor at all. So, given a chance to vote for when I need rain to fall, I need it in April and May, but not heavily in early June when the main crop of tomatoes is ripening. I think in June 2004, we had about a foot of rain in June and it just ruined the maters. We had a high rainfall total in 2009, but 1/3 of that year's total rainfall fell in the month of April, so it looked better on paper at the end of the year than it really was at the time. Even in 2013, which was a horrible drought year overall, most of the good rain fell in May so the garden did at least benefit from that. As gardeners, we not only need rainfall, we need it at the right times, and some years that just does not happen. We often are in the same position where rain goes all around us---we call it being in the doughnut hole. We've spent this whole week pretty much in the doughnut hole, while folks around us are the doughtnut and have been getting blasted with rain and now have flooding. Oh well, we won't be dealing with mud, flooding, ants coming into the house to escape perpetually wet ground, fungal diseases that are more common in wet years, etc.

I guess Tim and I will spend either today or tomorrow setting up the drip irrigation system because it looks like we'll have a hot, dry summer here. When the rain keeps missing us consistently like it has this month, it is incredibly rare (non-existent, really) for June or July to suddenly turn rainy. A dry pattern in April and May always continues and worsens in summer here. If we don't get good rain in May, then we don't get it in June either. Our rainfall was above-average in January, but has been below average in every month since then, so the trend we've been seeing is not a good one. So far, for the month of May, our rainfall is about 20% of what average May rainfall would be. It isn't hard to see the handwriting on the wall.

Rebecca, The lightning show has been awesome and folks have posted amazing videos and photos everywhere. We had a lightning show start up here last night after we'd already gone to bed, and I got excited. Usually if lightning and thunder are going nuts over your property, you're going to get rain. Nope. lol. That storm formed quickly, headed east and rained on another county---one that was drier than us and desperately needed good rainfall, so I'm happy for them.

I hope the wind didn't bring any limbs down on your plants.

Kim, I agree with the 2" of rain a week, but it isn't going to happen at my house. As for warming up----heck no! We hit 92 degrees a few days ago and the heat index was 96. It is too early for that. I've had the kind of temperatures for several days now that impede tomato fruitset, so I'm excited the weather has turned back cooler for a few days and we'll be able to get more fruit set. It will be hot by the time June arrives, so let's enjoy a few cooler days while we've got them. July will arrive all too soon and we'll be wishing to have the cooler May days back again.

Jay, I was thinking about Judy in Leedey during all those horribly stormy days in western OK. I am glad the worst of the weather missed her and sorry to hear about her ankle. Sulphur had some wicked storms last nights with some tornado warnings. Our local CBS affiliate had live wall-to-wall coverage under the tornadic cells finally passed on much further to the east. Some of the storm chaser videos of the very dark skies, hail and torrential rainfall/flooding were incredible last night---as in incredibly frightening.

Y'all are having everything but the kitchen sink thrown at you weather-wise. I hope the rest of the gardening/farming/ranching season is quiet and uneventful so everyone can work on getting everything repaired and back to normal.

Here's the rainfall map for the last week:

7-Day Rainfall Accumulation

Now, I'm headed out somewhere else other than the garden. I was planning on getting a lot of rain, thought the garden would be too wet and made other plans. I'm not going to change them just because Mother Nature failed to deliver all that forecasted rain and flooding.

Y'all have fun today, keep your heads above water, turn around, don't drown, yada, yada, yada. (grin)

Dawn

Jay, I'm glad you checked in, I've been worried about you.

2" in the rain gauge this morning. I dumped 2.25 yesterday about 10:30. Wish I could share Dawn. Thinking about a fungicide treatment for tomatoes today.

Got it! Heavy rain in June equals yucky tomatoes...or at least less flavorful tomatoes.

We only got half an inch yesterday.

Amy and Nancy, that's a lot of rain!

Dawn, I did lose another tree branch yesterday in the storms, and it landed on a Creole tomato plant. However, it's cage protected it, and I was able to pick up the branch and move it, so no damage done there.

Dawn,

I'm not sure if it had anything to do with it (but I'm giving her all the credit), but last Sunday for Mother's Day my future daughter-in-law gave me a watering can that she strung blue gem-looking beads from and a shepherd's hook to hang it from, so that it looks like the watering can is watering the garden. (Sorry if that is as clear as mud!) Since she gave it to me, we've had more rain than we had in the last three months. So maybe you need a jazzy watering can garden pretty thingy?

Hoping you get rain soon,

Michelle

Amy, That's a lot of rain. I know you'd share if you could. It is so discouraging to see the rain do everything in its power to avoid us. I knew the time would come when we'd be paying for all that rain we got in 2015 and the first half of 2016, and I believe it now is time to pay the piper.

If I'd had as much rain as you, I'd definitely be spraying the fungicide. It is a whole lot easier to nip those issues in the bud early than to try to control them after they're widespread.

Rebecca, I'm glad the Creole plant wasn't damaged. Tomato cages do provide a lot of protection and that's one of the things I like about them---the Florida Weave cannot and does not protect tomato plants as well as cages do.

Michelle, I've seen those watering cans like that and think they are so pretty. Maybe the rain gods think your watering can is an homage to them so they've reciprocated by coming over and dumping rain on your plants.

Usually, we can make it rain by painting the house. I think that's a lot of work though just to inspire rain to fall. Oh, and we just painted the house in, I think, 2014 or 2015, so it is too soon to paint it again (for which I am grateful). There are other ways to make it rain.....pour concrete, wash all the cars, clean all the exterior windows (especially the second story ones), etc.

It will rain again eventually. Until then I am going to be grumpy. It is hard enough, as all of you know, to keep plants happy in June, July and August even if rain is falling. Without rain, it is nearly impossible, no matter how much you water.

We have had a couple of young hens go broody. We let each of them set on a handful of eggs because they were so determined. It was sort of a waste of eggs---but at least we have two happy hens. Each hen hatched out one chick and then promptly abandoned the rest of the eggs. First-time mama hens sometimes do this---like they are so proud they hatched out a single egg that they forget there's 6 or 8 other eggs still sitting in the nest. So, we have a tiny new black chick and a tiny new white chick, both in the brooder together under a heat lamp to keep them warm enough, and their mothers are free-ranging with the rest of the flock today. There's nothing like th cheep-cheep-cheep of a little chick to start out the day right.

Dawn

Well, we flooded. Not so bad but it sure felt like it. We actually got 6" last night. All in the first 20 minutes. It rained well into the morning. Probably around 4. I lost 3-6" of dirt on my rows but at least my entire garden is not in standing water. It is salvageable. The rain was heavy enough it moved 3 heavy planters several feet from where they originally were. But on the bright side, today my red velour petunias bloomed.

Karen, that's about how it went here last night, too--though only 4 inches during that one. It's the first time I've ever been run off the deck, though. Powerful storm! And then, yes, continued to rain not so hard into the wee hours. What area do you live in?

Dawn. . . I know what you're saying about the donut and the hole--we were the hole last year, in spades. Crazy how that goes, isn't it?

I live about 30 miles from mcalester. If you drew a triangle from okc to Tulsa, we'd be that third southern point. About an hour and a half from either city. I felt like we got all of last year's monsoons at one time.

Congrats on your little babies, Dawn.

DId I read that right, Karen?! You got 6 inches of rain in 20 minutes? Glad your garden can be saved.

Yes, baby chicks. I can't even look at them. . . I'd be gone. (Or baby ducks, for that matter.) Or heck, baby dogs or baby cats or . . . .

Karen, yep, You and I seem to be in that rain track this year. We're north and a little bit east of you. And Muskogee seems to be getting pounded as it leaves your house! (And was last year, too, it seemed. But last year after the storms left Muskogee, they either split and went to Tulsa and Tahlequah, or to Tulsa OR Tahlequah and we were left high and dry like Dawn is this year!

Nancy,

Thanks. We're not too far south of Muskogee. I like to know what's going on even that close. I'm a bit surprised we were hit as hard as we were. Usually the mountains surrounding us protect us a little better.

Last year we had a ton of rain. I had to replant 3 times. This year, dry as a powder house keg. Until yesterday. I do remember the last day of May last year, we had a real gully washer. That one was just as quick and hard as this one but didn't last near as long. I lost a great deal more in that one.

I just finished surveying everything. Our corn has to be replanted. I'll lose at least half if not more. Pity. I've lost 2 flower gardens. Thankfully I love zinnias and have plenty of seed. The higher the ground the better we were. I am happy I won't have to replant the veggie garden. Not bad losses at all. It will be Tuesday before we'll be able to get in the garden. I'll be ready.