It was a mile south of me. Killed one, several injured, destroyed a power sub station. Elk City was without electricity. Total blackout yesterday and last night. All critical services were running on emergency generators. This particular monster started over near Shamrock Texas and came our way. Impossible to see by the storm watchers as it was wrapped in rain most of the time, leaving a debris path in its wake.

One can hear those monsters coming if you know what to listen for. There is so much high velocity wind in them they sound like a B-52. A real heavy constant roar. People used to say they sounded like a freight train but then it was the only thing they had to compare to at the time. Have no idea how many I have seen from a half mile to a mile away? Dozens? Even experienced being under one and survived. God loves us.

Lots of hail from dime size to golf ball size here. Wheat took a hickey of course. Still better than others who had their vehicles, houses, roofs, windows, windshields destroyed by grapefruit size hail. The hail track was approx six to eight miles wide. Started out near Shamrock and pummeled everyone and everything from there to past Clinton, Oklahoma. If the tornado doesn't drown out the incoming hail sound, one can hear those grapefruit size suckers coming approx two or three seconds before the impact. And yes I'm speaking from first hand experience.

My electricity went off about four yesterday and came back on about ten minutes ago. I'm on a different electrical supplier than Elk City. The lady at the office told me it might be a week before I was back online as over one hundred of their power polls had been snapped off or downed. Twenty five hours later and I'm back up.

Oklahoma has the most up to date latest high tech radar systems in the world. The news was tracking that monster mile by mile despite it being inside a rain squall. They were reporting on when it was sucking up debris, when it was off the ground, when it was back down, how wide it was, how much wind velocity it had to it along with exactly were it was. They were also reporting the hail size and density along with the tornado.

When it was five miles from me I got in the pickup and drove north. Those things can shift direction in a heartbeat. As its path was a mile to the south of me that was too close to be standing in the field watching. And hell yeah, a car or pickup can outrun them. I watched this one from the comfort of a pickup seat.

Tune in tomorrow night for another As the World Turns soap opera in the Fly Over States. We are on the schedule for another round then. God, I love western Oklahoma! But then I'm insane. It helps.

Life is meant to be lived, not worn until it's worn out. And if it ain't working fer yuh poke it with a stick, see if it changes.
always,
Barb