Are there any forum members in or close to Moore? A horrible situation there.
Member map shows ncaabbfan (Morris and Janice) and CHUG (Ty) are both south to south east of Moore. Please, guys, check in.
I was on the phone with Dave Cobb when he told me to turn on the news, a tornado had hit the OKC area. Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone on the Moore area.
Really bad one. Lets hope everyone made it through safe and sound!
The Frailey's are close by but they have checked in. THey also have family there too but I think they are ok too.
Good to know. I don't recognize the name and they're not on the member map - what's their forum name?
The member pins for Morris and Jan, and Chug are well south south of the disaster area in Moore. We visited with Morris and Jan on our last trip. They live in Norman, which is around eight miles south of the disaster zone. Eight miles off the track of a tornado is quite a different experience from being in the path.
We traveled through Moore several times after the tornado of 1999. The difference between a direct hit and 1/2 mile off that track was remarkable. There were clean slabs in the track and minor damage 1 mile away.
The bad luck of time and place for the people in the path of today's storm is overwhelming to contemplate. My heart breaks, especially for the families that sent their children off to school this morning and will not get to welcome them home.
Cherish the ones you love, and let them know it.
Tom and Jackie Frailey are mams24. No posts. No member pin. Listed as Chickasha, OK, on Motorcade list. It looks like Chickasha escaped without harm today.
I actually took a motorcycle ride today up as far as Turner Falls right of I-35. I initially was going to visit Lake Murray area.....they would not let me in just to look at Elephant Rock RV camping area unless I paid $4 ...could not believe it so I left and went to Turner Falls. Weather looked bad so I turned around since I knew there was a forecast for bad weather in the area. When I got to Durant,OK I saw the news about the tornado.....unbelieveable!! Talked to truckers who passed through the area just before the storm hit....amazing!! I saw the area first hand when the previous tornado hit 11 years ago......I was in the insurance business and insured a lot of homes in the area.......this tornado is a lot worse by far! Prayers to all.
Just looked up where Lee and Odie Weatherred (the former owners of our coach) are in relation to the tornado. They are about 75 miles or so ESE in Holdenville. They aren't on the forum much, but maybe someone in that area knows more. I'm not going to call them at this time of night, but if nothing else is posted by the time I get home from school tomorrow I'll call them then and see how they are.
The Fraileys were past International President a couple years ago. Voted in at the Branson GV.
---One thing to remember about tornadoes, even the big ones are still very isolated geographically. Our old hose is 15 miles from Moore and there was no damage in our area. I'm sure the Wethereds are OK since they are south of the affected area. I don't think that Morris and Janice were affected if they were in Norman, OK. I'm not sure about Chug but I think he might have been close to the Sunday tornadoes that hit Shawnee and Edmond, OK. Chickasha was not affected by any of the recent storms as far as I can tell.
We were there in 1999 when the F5, the highest wind speed ever recorded, came through. This one looks pretty much the same. The one in 2003 that Steve mentioned we much less destructive. A Winnebago Chieftan went through a direct hit and stayed in one piece in that storm. I found it laying on its side right in the driveway where it was setting and it held together much better than I would have thought.
What is amazing to me is how few people are killed in a storm of this type. Yes, we have excellent weather warnings in Oklahoma but this thing blew up in less than 15 minutes from when it started to when it started wiping out the houses. They thought the 1999 "Slab Wiper" was a once in a century storm. Now we know after Joplin, Tuscaloosa and now Moore again that these "Super Storms" may become the norm and these storms are no longer limited to Tornado Alley.
Underground shelters are absolutely necessary in an F4 or F5 Tornado to insure survival as you can see by the condition of the two concrete block elementary schools and the Moore Medical Center. Be Tornado vigilant and don't under estimate the power of Mother Nature.
Just talked to Odie Weatherred and they are fine. They have had over 5" of rain since 5:00 this morning. They have been on "high alert" for several days, and are pretty tired. Their satellite service isn't working well, so they can't watch their favorite television shows, but they are still healthy and in good spirits.
Some photos from the Moore, OK tornado from the The Atlantic.
Photos of Tornado Damage in Moore, Oklahoma - In Focus - The Atlantic (http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/05/photos-of-tornado-damage-in-moore-oklahoma/100518/)
The arial photos showing the path of the tornado are amazing. Seeing homes completely flattened and intact homes just a block away just blows me away. The pics of buildings and autos pockmarked with debris from 200 mph winds is incredible. It would be like being hit with a shotgun with very large pellets! The police car and the BMW show the power of this storm. Glad there wasn't a picture of a Foretravel in there. The way we cris cross the country it would be easy to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Be careful out there!
see ya
ken