Oklahoma Twisters Force Apartment Residents to Laundry Room

FIRST PERSON | NORMAN, Okla. -- The tornado sirens began going off around 5 p.m. here in Norman on Tuesday.

Out of habit, half a dozen neighbors and I in my apartment complex immediately made our way to the lowest center of the building. The laundry room was the safest place in this case. A man with headphones stood outside the door and informed us that "an F-1 tornado had been confirmed and is expected to hit Norman at 6:01." Shortly after that, the rain began to fall with a crash of thunder loud enough to usher us into the laundry room.

I peeked out of the laundry room and down the corridor to the parking lot. The rain fell torrential with little spots of hail here and there. I watched the water churn and circulate across the pavement. Tornadoes were breaking out everywhere -- several near my mother's house north of Oklahoma City, El Reno, Edmond, and Midwest City. But for most of us, this was nothing new. Nearly every year there is a major tornado outbreak here. All you can do is hope the thing veers off into uninhabited hills or farmland. Thousands upon thousands of us all must have been huddled in closets or piled in bathtubs. My girlfriend, my mother, my father and my brother -- along with the rest of my family -- simultaneously hunkered down in over five different cities. Everybody called everyone and waited.

By 5:45 p.m., it was clear the tornado near my apartment had changed course toward the sparsely populated area around Lake Thunderbird. The sirens wound themselves down and the sun came out without warning. I called all my loved ones. Everyone was fine. Those of us in the laundry room sighed out a little relief and dispersed back to our apartments. Wednesday calls for sunny skies with highs in the 70s. But here in Oklahoma you never really know.

Our hearts go out to those who suffered loss in the Joplin tornado and the tornadoes that broke out here in Oklahoma today. Although tornadoes are an exhilarating force of nature to behold they should be respected and met with a sense of solemn reverence and respect.