Need quick advice - more storms soon

This whole thing made me think a lot about my kitties safety last night... as I was under the blankets "in the safe room", there was not time to get the kitties... They were under my bed and there is a glass window by them. I felt SO guilty.... all I could think was I had to save myself so I could take care of them... being alone it's all I can do... Of course that's not nearly enough
I really need to buy more carriers - I only have 2, and get ready for these warnings - I underestimate them way too often. I need to pay more attention so I have more time.
To top it off I missed two meetings in two different cities the last few days - one in Tulsa monday due to severe weather here, and the other today in Grand Rapids, due to severe weather in Chicago. I am sooooo bummed out - let alone tired
Not fun to leave your house at 4 am to the airport after night like this to sit on the plane for an hour to just come back home...
I guess I just have to be happy I am safe.... Sucks though....

It's so good to hear you're all safe. What is it with the tornadoes this year? They seem so much worse and more frequent than usual.

Im glad you guys and your kitties are safe and sound

Has anyone heard from Amy?

I have a sister in OKC. They didn't get hit this time, at all, but the one a couple of years ago that destroyed a little truck stop was at the exit on I-40 we take to get to their house. Too close! Her daughter lives down in Moore, and she was OK, too.

I was in and out of the Metroplex about 7:30 last night. The sky looked bad, but all we got was rain. Dottie was sent home a little early from work, since she works just north of downtown Fort Worth and they were in the warning path.

Then, last night, the sirens kept going off in our town. Dottie slept in the hallway, in the center of the house. But it didn't even rain hard, I think.

Yikes, what a way to start my day- I work evenings so I sleep kind of late, woke up to the sirens going off and my phone ringing off the wall I ignored the phone in favor of getting the pets downstairs... they're still there, but the sun is out where I am and it seems like the worst is past. Keeping an eye on the news just in case, it's not more than ten miles away!

Originally Posted by orangeishcat

Yikes, what a way to start my day- I work evenings so I sleep kind of late, woke up to the sirens going off and my phone ringing off the wall

I ignored the phone in favor of getting the pets downstairs... they're still there, but the sun is out where I am and it seems like the worst is past. Keeping an eye on the news just in case, it's not more than ten miles away!

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Oh man... it has to stop already! Be safe!

I am just shuddering reading these posts. I am sooooooooooo very thankful you are all alright THANK GOD!!!!!!!!! These are terribly dangerous storms. I do have crates for all of my cats. They are terrified of storms, at least Perla and Perkins are. They run and hide. I don't know if I would be able to grab them in time if a tornado were to hit. I will plan ahead and if there is a warning, in the crates they will go and I will be ready. We had a tornado warning already twice in the last week, Chicago. Very sad for all of the people in the paths of these storms. Prayers for everyone to be safe

I'm here!! Sorry, I didn't get up early enough this morning to post that I made it through the night OK. We had small hail here, and there was a lightning strike somewhere behind our house. My 3 large dogs who never flinch in a storm all landed in my lap when the lightning struck, scattering the cats that were trying to nap there.

I heard more about Joplin this morning. I work at Home Depot, and for those that have followed the news there, you might have heard that it, and the Walmart were flattened. 7 bodies were recovered from the Home Depot (1 employee and 6 customers) and they are still searching through the rubbish for more. I hear this news, then asked about our stores tornado preparedness plan. Our "safe" zone is in our breakroom, which is adjacent to where they store the propane tanks. I'll be writing a letter about that little problem.

4 hours into work, the tornado sirens go off. A tornado was spotted about 5 miles southwest of the store and heading our way. I thought it was a fine time to take a lunch someplace where there would be a walk in freezer (a really safe place to be in a tornado). There's another storm coming through later this afternoon with large hail and damaging winds. We're under a tornado watch until 6PM this evening.

I will say that nearly every one that came into the store talked about someone they know that was evacuated to safe zones in their place of business this morning. Most of the radio stations had interrupted their broadcasts with safety warnings to everyone. I've not heard that extreme preparedness before. Joplin is still fresh in our minds.

This is supposed to go on and off through Saturday. Welcome to Kansas (and Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri).

Originally Posted by Momofmany

I'm here!! Sorry, I didn't get up early enough this morning to post that I made it through the night OK. We had small hail here, and there was a lightning strike somewhere behind our house. My 3 large dogs who never flinch in a storm all landed in my lap when the lightning struck, scattering the cats that were trying to nap there.

I heard more about Joplin this morning. I work at Home Depot, and for those that have followed the news there, you might have heard that it, and the Walmart were flattened. 7 bodies were recovered from the Home Depot (1 employee and 6 customers) and they are still searching through the rubbish for more. I hear this news, then asked about our stores tornado preparedness plan. Our "safe" zone is in our breakroom, which is adjacent to where they store the propane tanks. I'll be writing a letter about that little problem.

4 hours into work, the tornado sirens go off. A tornado was spotted about 5 miles southwest of the store and heading our way. I thought it was a fine time to take a lunch someplace where there would be a walk in freezer (a really safe place to be in a tornado). There's another storm coming through later this afternoon with large hail and damaging winds. We're under a tornado watch until 6PM this evening.

This is supposed to go on and off through Saturday. Welcome to Kansas.

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Thanks for the update.

Propane take next to your safe room? Not good.

When is tornado season over?

Originally Posted by xocats

When is tornado season over?

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The worst here is always the spring, but they can happen anytime during warmer weather months. The earliest I've heard of one around here is February and the latest in October. Tornadoes are prevalent in hurricane states, and hurricane season is later in the year.

But they are saying that this is the worst year for tornadoes in over 50 years. Over 2050 people have died this spring from tornadoes across the country.

I might add. You may have seen the news about 2 people killed in Kansas last night when an airborne tree struck their car. They had pulled into a driveway of an old farm house to get out of the way, when a tree that had been broken by a tornado hit their car. It was a woman and her daughter. Another daughter in the car is in critical condition. The woman was the organist at the church of a person that I work with.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm SO glad everyone from TCS (and their kitties) is OK, but I'm so sorry for those that didn't meet with such fortune.....

We actually had a tornado warning Monday. One touched down just a few miles southwest of us - VERY unusual for this area. We were reading the watch warning thingy, and it said if you live in a mobile home or trailer to LEAVE it. Well - we decided not to do that. We'd rather be tossed around in here than have all these RVs and trailers or pieces of them flying at us! We did disconnect the propane and turn it off. And we did get a bunch of rather large hail - small golf ball sized stuff. This is the second time in a few weeks we got pelted with a bunch of hail.

There are still a lot of storms in the area, but for now the pets are napping in various places around the house and I'm going on with business as usual! I'm so glad to hear everyone else is all right!

Peanut hates his carrier and usually puts up a big fight about going in it, but I just shoved his furry little behind in there before he could meow this morning!

Originally Posted by Momofmany

I might add. You may have seen the news about 2 people killed in Kansas last night when an airborne tree struck their car. They had pulled into a driveway of an old farm house to get out of the way, when a tree that had been broken by a tornado hit their car. It was a woman and her daughter. Another daughter in the car is in critical condition. The woman was the organist at the church of a person that I work with.

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That is so sad.

I have another question that occured to me, they tell you to get into a bathtub, but what if your bathtubs are on the top floor? Is is safer in a bathtub whereeer it is, or in an interior room with no windows? I have a little closet under the stairs which I always figured would be my "safe" room, but looking at the destruction these storms have caused, there's nothing left, I doubt my "safe" room would be all that safe, or my bathtub either.

I absolutely HATE tornadoes. They scare the bleep out of me. The ones that went through our area earlier in the month came within about 5 miles of us and that's just way too close.

I hope everybody and their kitties stay safe and that this terrible weather stops soon

I think they recommend bath tubs because in the past, they were cast iron and would generally not crush if things landed on them. I recall hearing that if all else fails, try to put a mattress on top of you while in the bathtub, so that the mattress can cushion anything falling on top of you. Also, many bathrooms are located within interior places in homes/apartments and don't have windows.

In this part of the U.S., the majority of tornadoes come from the southwest, so they say to get to the lowest part of your house in a room without windows in the southwest corner (if behind concrete). If the house comes apart over you, it will blow away from where you are located. If you don't have concrete walls in your shelter area, go to an interior room without windows.

Glad everyone is ok. Unfortunately, yesterday's storms here are moving east and those in eastern MO, TN, etc. are now facing these awful storms.

I did get one piece of good news today though. My best friend's mom (my friend was killed a couple years ago) called me this morning from Joplin and she is ok, as is her other children, grandchildren, etc. She was home when it hit and her house and car are destroyed but she wasn't hurt. I have been so worried and it is a relief to get some good news.

I'm going to have to figure out somewhere else to go to Petsmart though, since its not recommended to go to Joplin anytime soon (petsmart wasn't hit) and the boys are nearly out of food/litter. I may have to just order online.

I'm glad to hear you got some good news!! There is a woman who posts on the baby board I go on who's friends lost everything. (They live in Joplin) They have a baby boy so people are getting things together and sending stuff for the baby and the parents too.

I'm so glad everyone from TCS is safe and accounted for. My prayers are with everyone!!

Thank goodness everyone here has come through this! We had some serious wind and lost power for awhile, and I thought my computer had been zapped by lightning -- but it turned out to be the internet connection box, not the computer. Lucky.

I truly don't know what to do about the cats. When a tornado passed right over us last year (it had been touching down and lifting up and touching down again for several miles), I had my mom get in the bathroom so I could bring the cats to her one at a time... but it didn't work. She couldn't hold onto them, and I never got more than two cats into the bathroom at any one time.

I just don't see a solution for this -- not with SIX cats to wrangle, and only one person capable of capturing them. But I also can't imagine taking shelter while my kitties are left to fend for themselves! I do not know what to do.

Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

All safe here. The worst of it missed us this time thankfully. Vibes to everyone still in the path of this storm.

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Thank goodness. I don't understand what's going on this year. Continued safety to all

Thinking of everyone affected by the storms. we've had some nasty ones blew through here a couple of nights this week, but no significant threats or damage in the immediate area.