Severe weather season is upon us, and it can be a life-or-death issue, particularly when it comes to the potential for nighttime tornadoes.
That's why every meteorologist recommends you have a weather radio.
But not just any weather radio -- one that is programmed with information for your locale. The problem is that it's not the easiest thing in the world to program these suckers.
That's why the city of Norman Office of Emergency Management has partnered with local Wal-Mart stores not only to offer weather radios at a discounted price but also to help you get them programmed.
The event is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, at both Wal-Mart locations in Norman.
If you don't have a weather radio, you owe it to yourself to spend the money to get one. We're talking just a few dollars. This is a heck of an opportunity to get some help programming it while you're at the store.
Volunteer groups represented include: South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS), the Norman Emergency Response Volunteers, the University of Oklahoma’s Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (OU SCAMS), and the Cleveland County Medical Reserve CORPS.
One year ago today, I was awakened at 5 a.m. more than 100 miles away from home with a message on my pager saying that a hurricane was moving through Oklahoma City.
Actually, don't laugh. It was a tropical storm, and seven people died when Erin rolled through central Oklahoma on Aug. 19-20, 2007. For those of you not familiar with the weather dynamic of the Sooner State, I'll keep it simple.
We get everything.
And, today we got torrential rains and flooding the likes of which hadn't been seen in these parts since, well, this week last August. Norman was particularly hard hit by flash flooding, and while most of these roads are again open as of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, this list compiled by the Norman Transcript offers an insight into what floods where.
McGee Drive north of Lindsey Street
Midway Dr. /Independence Drive and Pinafore Drive
24th Avenue NW /Hwy 77 (Flood Avenue) and Franklin Road
Franklin Rd. /24th Avenue N.W. and 12th Avenue N.W.
Intersection of 24th Avenue N.W. and Indian Hills Road
Franklin Rd. /Porter Ave. and 36th Ave. NE
Porter Ave. /Franklin Rd. and Tecumseh Rd.
12th Ave. N.E. at Franklin Rd.
24th Ave. N.E. at Franklin Rd.
Indian Hills Rd. /12th Ave. N.E. and Porter Ave.
36th Ave. N.W. North of Indian Hills Rd. (NB)
120th Ave. S.E. South of Hwy No. 9
Cedar Lane /132nd Ave. S.E. and 144th Ave. S.E.
Imhoff Rd. /Hwy No. 9 and 132nd Ave. S.E.
108th Ave. S.E. South of Hwy 9
12th Ave. N.W. /Tecumseh Rd and Franklin Rd (Vo-Tech Rd)
Brookford Dr. at 36th Ave. N.W.
36th Ave. S.E. /Hwy No. 9 and Cedar Lane
Rock Creek Rd /48th Ave. N.W. and 60th Ave. N.W.
Robinson /48th Ave. N.W. and 60th Ave. N.W.
Lindsey /60th Ave. S.E. and 72nd Ave.
Main /Willoway and Independence
168th Ave. N.E. North of Franklin Road
60th Ave. S.E. south of Hwy No. 9
48th Ave. N.E. /Indian Hills Rd and Franklin Rd.
72nd Ave. S.E. Lindsey to Hwy No. 9
60th Ave. N.E. and Franklin Intersection
Tecumseh /60th N.W. and 72nd N.W.
Rock Creek Rd. /60th N.W. and 72nd N.W.
48th Ave. S.W. South of Main St.
84th Ave. S.E. ยบ mile North of Post Oak Rd.
36th Ave. N.E. /Franklin and Indian Hills
Lindsey at Elm Avenue
Lindsey at Homeland
With the full intention of being as thorough and factual as possible on The Norman Files, the above list from the Transcript could be at least partly arbitrary. However, I recognize several of these spots as areas prone to flash flooding. In terms of which residential areas in Norman are most likely to flood, what I know is that new floodplain maps were drawn up this summer.
If you live in Norman, you should have been notified of your existence inside or outside of the floodplains "around Norman’s creeks or the Canadian River bed." I don't recall this notice, but I'm mail lazy. You can contact the city of Norman if you need to know right this very second.
One of the old jokes about Norman is that if you live here, you're in the floodplain.
Anyhoo, back to today's Oklahoma natural disaster du jour:
Several rescues were reported in Norman, and the one that comes to mind is the scene mid-morning at Franklin Road and 12th Street, in which a grandmother told one of my colleagues that she drove into two-feet deep water in the throes of a "blonde moment."
At least she was honest!
I am a big supporter of requiring people who drive into high water where there are barricades to pay not only for the damage to their car but also for the time, expense and even the depreciation of services and equipment used to rescue them. There is no indication one way or the other, for sure, whether there was a barricade here when she got stuck, but I am pretty sure there wasn't.
Norman Assistant Fire Chief Bob Bledsoe talks in this video about closing 12th and Franklin down, which is about the same time the woman and her grandchild was rescued.
Here's a video report from KOCO.com, and here is some coverage from NewsOK.com.
It could have been much, much worse in Norman. Up to our northwest, in Canadian County, several families were evacuated, and water did get into homes. A YouTube poster called CanadianVandal posted this clip from footage shot by KOCO and aired by CNN this afternoon, shot by uber-talented aerial photojournalist Jay Beauchamp.
Don't think he'll mind the credited shout-out.
Oh, and that hurricane that moved through central Oklahoma last year? You don't believe that it did or that it was tropical in nature? Well, YouTube poster storm45zz adeptly documented the storm on Aug. 19, 2007, right about when I said it came through.
Just got home after a long day at work, but I beat it home before the storms moved through Cleveland County. A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Cleveland County, Okla., among many others until 9:45 p.m. Storms are moving across Oklahoma mostly from northwest to southeast, and it's part of a pattern that will stay with the Sooner State the next several days.
Given that The Norman Files is fairly new, I decided I would liveblog the storm and let you know in as real-time a fashion as possible what's happening in Norman and surrounding areas as we get pounded with storms. That is, I presume we're about to get pounded.
There IS a severe thunderstorm warning, ya' know.
So, if you stumble upon this post and it's still Thursday night, make it a point to refresh and refresh for the latest. I'll post info related to the weather below.
If you stumble upon this in the year 2082, just know I had a good time. Enjoy.
9:21 p.m. Possible residential fire reported at 2312 Augusta Drive in Norman. Caller advises that lightning might have struck the residence.
9:24 p.m. Nothing showing at the residence. Man, the fire department here is fast!
9:27 p.m. According to the Interactive Radar at KOCO.com, storms are moving from NW to SE and should be in Norman any minute now.
9:28 p.m. Report of wires arcing (she said "arching," is that right?) at NE 27th and North Eastern.
9:30 p.m. Report of a transformer blown at 308 Orr Drive in Norman.
9:47 p.m. Drivers stuck in water along or near I-35 at about SE 66th Street.
9:54 p.m. Thunder pretty steady, but -- again -- no big whoop. Report of "line trouble," although I'm not sure what that is at 4405 Katie Ridge Drive, which I believe is in Moore.
9:55 p.m. Dispatcher says they've had power problems for a bit tonight. I could make my usual rude comment about our electricity provider, but I'll keep my comments to myself. Of course until my power goes off, which should happen any minute given that it's raining.
10 p.m. Now THAT was some legitimate Thunder! This is still kind of a p**** storm.
This is terrible video, at least the lighting part for sure, but it's a look out my front door tonight as it rains. I'm working on getting my video ready for such an occasion as this. Bear with me!
10:03 p.m. Police advise that roads near the westside Wal-Mart in Norman be barricaded. Probably an area prone to flooding.
10:05 p.m. Report of a commercial fire alarm at 2020 Industrial Blvd. in Norman. This would be the Oklahoma Geological Survey warehouse. It's hard to say whether this is a legitimate fire, caused perhaps by lightning, or a lightning-induced alarm. Stay tuned.
10:09 p.m. Car wreck with injury at I-35 and Newcastle exit, which I do believe is at the Riverwind Casino. I also believe I heard an officer say "rollover" in connection with this crash. Almost certainly weather-related.
10:13 p.m. Call for a water rescue at Tecumseh and 36th Ave. NW. Folks drive into this stuff, water too high for them to see bottom. But in defense, it can be hard to see at night, particularly in poorly lit areas.
11:18 p.m. The storm is over here in Norman for tonight, but my Web connection pooted out right at about 10:15 p.m. Cox Communications is typically pretty good, but just as soon as I said something nasty about the ol' electricity provider, my cable modem decides to quit serving pages.
Alas, here's what you missed in the last hour of the storm:
10:18 p.m. Commercial fire alarm at Lowe's Home Improvement, 1501 S. Service Road.
10:22 p.m. OUPD got to the scene of what, I think, was the fire alarm at the Oklahoma Geological Survey and determined it was a malfunctioning alarm.
10:44 p.m. Car hits building at 1723 Lancaster Circle in Norman. I swear it sounded like the responding officer said the driver was trying to get out of a lease, but surely I misheard that.
11:10 p.m. Road signs blown over in the 1800 block of Imhoff.
OK, that's all for the ol' storm edition of scanner blogging tonight. If you stumble upon this and it entertained you and/or you'd like me to do this during more exciting storms (barring power/cable problems), then please subscribe at the top of the home page and post a comment below.
My thought process with regard to this blog is for folks who don't have access to detailed, specific Norman information during storms. Because of my day job, I wouldn't be able to do this all the time, particularly during the day. However, I know that we look to the Web for immediacy, and I hope I can provide that immediacy with a focus on hyperlocal information.
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