When your small town in Northwest Oklahoma makes national news twice in one week it's usually not a good thing. This week has been bazaar to say the least. Honestly it feels sort of like living in the Twilight Zone. It's hard to choose words to describe how blessed my family feels after a deadly week of Oklahoma weather. Here's my story......
The wind began picking up on late Monday afternoon as I was rushing to pick up Hallie. A storm was headed right for our town and it was expected to have high winds and hail. Hallie and I were safe and sound in the house and I started calling Riley
The hail storm spared our windows, cars and roof. But it seems ridiculous to even be talking about the hail storm after what happened last night. We had fair warning about the "life threatening" weather that Oklahoma was expecting on Saturday afternoon and evening. Being the weather scaredy-cat that I am, I had been doing some research and reading all day to that I could stay up to date on what was expected to happen. Early on in the afternoon it appeared that Woodward would be in the clear and the dry line would set up further East. This was not the case though. There was a tornado warning in the early afternoon hours for Woodward county. I was in Enid getting geared up for my Bailey's bachelorette bash that night and keeping close tabs on Riley and Hallie. They had taken shelter at the hospital where Riley, along with his other coworkers, was directing the chaos that had ensued there. A huge number of people (and dogs) had chosen the hospital as a place to take shelter. Riley was just a bit exhausted after spending the afternoon there doing crowd control with Hallie in tow. The storm moved on toward Waynoka and dropped a large tornado at Bouse Junction. Us girls headed our to the dinner and I kept my eyes glued on the tv as we watched another tornado touch down by Cherokee. In my mind I was preparing for the line of storms heading toward Enid. Never did I imagine what was to happen in Woodward early Sunday morning. Riley put Hallie to bed but stayed up to watch the weather. I told him to go to bed but I think it was the protective daddy in him that kept him up. I wandered into the man cave room at Aunt Lisa's where the tv was on channel 9 weather and I heard them say Woodward. News to me. What is going on?? The next thirty minutes were a complete nightmare. I sat shaking in the chair as I watched the storm chaser track the tornado right into the west side of town. I was so terrified that I couldn't even comprehend the street names that the storm chaser was rattling off. My mind was a jumbled up mess knowing that a tornado was heading into the town and my babies were in our house without a shelter. I was on the phone relaying the details to Riley and he assured me that the tornado was a couple miles from our home (but still way too close for comfort). But what had us both shaking was the fact that it was headed directly for Nanny and Papa's house. I told him to get off the phone and call them and wake them up. He called and got a text back saying "I'm sleeping." He called again and finally got through to Papa who then got the dogs and headed to a middle room in the house. I called Katie to make sure they were in the basement and talked to her about what was going on since their tv had gone out. I watched as Marty Logan relayed the path of the storm on tv. Just about the time it entered town Riley lost electricity so I stayed on the phone with him as they reported that it was at 34th and Oklahoma. For those who don't live it Woodward, this is where the movie theatre sits and just north of there sits Nanny and Papa's house. Many of our friends and family were right along the path of the tornado. My mind flashed with people who may have been in harm's way. I listened as Marty shouted out in horror about power flashes and demolished buildings and described the tornado as "huge".....absolute terror. It was hard to wrap my mind around what was actually happening. I just kept shaking my head thinking "this can't be real. This isn't fair. It's night and everyone is sleeping." And unfortunately a lot of Woodward was sleeping. Six people lost their lives in the tornado. Three of those people were small children. Here is a frightening image of the F3 tornado as it came through the west end of town....
We got word from Papa that he was okay...Nanny had been out on a work run and was in Cherokee. Papa ventured out of the house and down the street a block away from their house where the devastation unfolded. Houses demolished, leveled, nothing left but bricks and sheet rock. I continued to watch the news while sitting in the chair shaking in fear. I sent Riley to bed, although he was dying to go up to the hospital to help any way he could. I reminded him that getting Hallie out of bed and subjecting her to that scene would have been a bit much for her. I think adrenaline had kicked in and he was ready to go to work. He stayed home and the two of them slept (well, Hallie slept and Riley fielded phone calls and texts all night). I stayed up until around 4:00 a.m. responding to texts, phone calls and messages....and just lying in bed unable to shut my mind off. I got up that morning after about two and a half hours of solid sleep, showered and said goodbye to family. I was busy checking facebook to check on extended family to make sure they were all alright. For Riley and I both have so many cousins, aunts, siblings in the town it was a miracle that all of them were unharmed. As I drove into town it was almost as if I could feel the shock around me. I drove straight to Katie's house where my sweet baby was waiting with Nanny. I don't remember ever hugging her that tight or being that excited to lay eyes on her. Riley was at the hospital making sure things were working smoothly so I enjoyed a yummy breakfast cooked by Luke. We sat around the table and looked at pictures that people had posted on facebook. It was only then that it dawned on me that the tornado's path had gone through the neighborhood where our old rent house was, where our friends Matt and Heather live and also where Riley's Aunt Christy and cousins live. Riley and Bill spent the afternoon cleaning up at the Stock Exchange branch on the corner of 34th and Oklahoma and helped Christy with some cleanup and tarped the roof. She had several 2x4s sticking in her roof like a pin cushion. One actually went all the way through and was sticking through the ceiling. Here are some photos courtesy of cousins Sarah and Susan....
I took a few pictures of some damage out on 48th street and down the street from our neighborhood while taking a detour to avoid 34th street. This is what I saw...
48th street damage
Tree about 1/4 mile down the road from our house
Here are a view pictures that Riley took while working on cleanup.....
View from Christy's roof
The movie theatre
Sweet Wilma's house
What was once a pretty neighborhood full of trees
Riley said this tree came from another street and was dropped here
Backside of movie theatre
Oklahoma/Hwy 412
It still just seems so unreal. Watching the non-stop news coverage makes it very real though. We are finding it hard to get back into the normal swing of things knowing that so many are hurting and in great need. Riley and I are doing what we can to help but feel like it's just not going to ever be enough. This town will take months to rebuild but I'm telling you right now that it won't be long until each and every family is provided for due to the generosity and camaraderie of the people in this town. My heart feels especially saddened for one of Hallie's daycare friend's family whose house was in the direct path of the storm and lost everything. But my heart was so happy to hear that they had been provided with a temporary home for their family. My friend Amy and her husband just moved into their home in Woodward two weeks ago and they received some pretty bad damage to their windows, roof and fence. A friend from grad chool and soon-to-be coworker who is marrying our next door neighbor in two weeks had her soon-to-be house destroyed. It's a miracle that all of our friends and so many family that are in town were protected and survived the nasty storm.
I think the consensus of those around town is a feeling of helplessness. It's almost difficult to sit at home in the comfort of our familiar surroundings and be thankful for what we have when so may families were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. There are so many in need and luckily many ways to help out. Donations can be made to Billings Funeral Home, Red Cross, Bank of Western Oklahoma, Salvation Army of Woodward....and I'm sure many many more. Now it's time to count our blessings, take another look at what really matters and last but not least.....GET A STORM SHELTER.
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