Debbie Hite heeded the tornado warning and sought the safety of the shelter she had installed in her garage. Climbing down into the concrete and steel hole, she slid the top shut and waited out the storm. After the storm passed, Debbie realized the real danger wasn't the tornado, but the shelter she was in - the storm shelter door would not open. No amount of wiggling, kicking, hitting, etc. would release the latch. Debbie was trapped. She stayed trapped for 56 hours until co-workers came looking for her.
I have been thinking a lot about storm shelters and tornadoes lately simply because I will be moving to a place where the potential to experience one is real. I have a list of items I will keep in my shelter, just in case. You have to consider that when you enter your storm shelter, you may emerge later to find nothing left of life as you knew it. Your house, car, everything, may be gone in seconds. Keeping some clothing, food, water, etc. in your shelter just makes sense.
For the longest time I planned on building my sustainable homestead in Oregon. The land I planned on being in the south-central area of Oregon not far outside Klamath Falls. However, upon closer inspection of building codes and some water rights issues, I have reconsidered and that had me looking for land in places I had never considered.
I follow several podcasts and blogs about both homesteading and tiny houses, and this has connected me with some great new folks who have offered up some suggestions for where to look for land. One has suggested her state, Oklahoma. So, yesterday I began doing some exploring of options in Oklahoma, a state I have driven through several times, but never considered as a place to call home. All I knew of Oklahoma was Indian Reservations and tornadoes.
I was right about Indian Reservations as there were many Native tribes both naturally from the area and forced by our government's misguided attempts at relocation of tribes and peoples back in the dark decision making period of our early history. Oklahoma had land rushes as well, so homesteading in Oklahoma is nothing new, not by far. The dust bowl was a hard lesson we also learned in Oklahoma. 1930's taught us important environmental lessons and resulted in some strategic changes in farming practices.
Oklahoma has much to offer the modern homesteader. Land is reasonably priced, it is not too densely populated, water can be found easily when drilling, there are plenty of natural resources, and for the most part, the land is flat in the west and gently rolling hills in the east. However, there is still the little issue of tornadoes.
Did you know that tornadoes are not unique to America? I was taught in school that they are an American phenomena due to our unique terrain and the size of our nation. Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands all get struck by Tornadoes as well. While they are not as common in other places around the world, our geography makes tornadoes possible with more frequency. Weather moves in from the west, drops down from the rocky mountains dry, gathers strength and moisture from the south and cold air from the north as it rolls across the flat midsection we Americans have affectionately labeled "Tornado Alley." Solar heating the storms causes the right combination of energy and, boom, a tornado forms.
I have never seen or experienced a Tornado, so I asked a ton of questions about them. I poked around on the internet and here is some of what I learned about Tornadoes and living in OK:
Oklahoma is fourth in line for most frequent Tornadoes. It is behind Texas, Kansas, and Florida.
Western OK is more likely to get hit by Tornadoes because of it's flatter lands. Tornadoes love flat land and follow the path of least resistance. Tornadoes like to follow Interstate areas since most interstate highways follow the path of least resistance.
Lincoln Country (where I am looking at land) has only been hit by three F4 or F5 Tornadoes since the 1950's. It is very infrequent and none of the events could be compared to the massive Tornado that hit Moore, OK in May 2013.
Pay attention to the weather forecasters - OK has some of the best. Take the advice of the weather forecasters - When they say go to a shelter, go. When they say get out of the way of the storm, get out of the way.
The odds of having your home destroyed by a Tornado are pretty small. There is a lot of land out there.
What does this mean for me? Well, it means that I am not sacrificing my dreams of a homestead simply because there is the potential for a bad storm. Storms mean rain. Rain means water. Water is life. I have found a new piece of land, one that even has a pond on it, and I think it is a go. My sense of determination and purpose is stronger than an F5 Tornado. Besides, at least with a Tiny House, I can hook it up to the back of my truck and drive it to a safe area. I can wait out the storm in the living room of my tiny house, chilling in a Walmart parking lot. I am sure there are many who wish they could do the same.
Check out this amazing footage of the Moore, OK Tornado from May of 2013:
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