Storm Preparedness

We hadn’t had a big severe weather event in the Tulsa Metro like the one late on June 18th in a long time.  Coming so late at night & after years w/o dealing with such a thing, it caught many people unaware.  We got lucky again!

There are several things everyone can do to lessen the effects of severe weather.

If you want to lessen the chances of your trees blowing over in, I can pass on a tip we got from a landscaper several years ago.  "Crown" the tree at the bottom (trim the low-hanging ones) & cut out some of the branches in the body of the tree.  That way, the wind will flow through the tree instead of catching it like a sail & taking it down.  Many cities will be collecting limbs from the curb or at drop-off sites for free soon so now would be a good time to do this.

If you don’t have an underground cellar or basement to go to during a storm (those are the absolute best places, even more so than safe rooms), you can clean out a closet big enough for everyone to fit in.  It should have no walls that touch the outside.  Bathrooms are good too if they don’t have lots of glass that could fly around.  Taking blankets or small mattresses can protect from flying debris, as can wearing helmets (bike, baseball, spelunking, etc.).  Remember to wear shoes.  One may have to walk on sharp debris after the storm has passed.  (Put some battery-powered “Stick Up” lights & battery-powered fans in your shelter.)

If you have a shelter or are going to have 1 built, register it w/ the city you live in.  If damage is really bad, you may not be able to get out on your own.  Aside from registering, take a referee whistle to your cellar so you can be heard when rescue crews are going around.  Go to your city’s website to find out how to register.

Think that we may never have that bad of weather?  Three of the biggest tornadoes recorded happened less than 140 miles from Tulsa.  The highest wind speed ever recorded on earth also happened in a tornado less than 120 miles from Tulsa.

Have at least 2 ways to get emergency alerts.  If the rain & wind are really loud, it’s hard to hear the storm sirens from inside.  Phone apps & emergency alert radios (battery back-up) are great.  If you use a phone app, pick 1 w/ a radar display on it so you can see when it’s okay to get out of your shelter.  Severe storms in Oklahoma can happen any time of day & any day of the year.

Listen to a handheld scanner.  You can hear storm spotters & ham radio operators on these.  If you buy an expensive 1, you can also hear local police officers or the highway patrol.  These radios give localized reports of what’s going on outside.  They can be better than watching t.v. b/c they cover smaller areas & don’t have to switch from radar to storm chasers to the studio over & over.

These are some things you can take to your shelter:  

         An airtight sealing box.  Put in some cold packs, whistle, protein       bars & bottles of water.  

         Another small airtight box you can put medicine & moolah in.  

If you want to get really safe, you can buy hurricane clips to help keep your roof on.  You can also get brackets to keep your garage door from pushing in during really high winds.  Once that happens, the wind can flow up & tear the roof off.

If you lose power, you can use a generator until the electric company gets things re-connected.  You need a really big one to run your air conditioning.  It looks like Oklahoma Natural Gas & Generac have ones that big.  There’s a Generac generator that is solar powered & can store enough electricity to run the a/c.

There are also solar-powered chargers you can use to keep your phone & laptop charged.

Here’s where you can buy these items:

Emergency Alert Radios:  Wal-Mart & many drug stores

Scanner & Chargers:  www.ebay.com   www.amazon.com  

Clips & brackets:  www.lowes.com   www.homedepot.com

Storm Cellars:  Take your pick on the internet close to your city.  These can be cut into your garage floor or buried in your yard.