Tornado hits OKC RV park

[Chris-n-Dennis]

DEPLOYMENT REPORT: Oklahoma City canine disaster search team Brent Koeninger & Moxie searched a mobile home park, an extended stay RV park and a motel last night following several destructive tornadoes that hit the OKC area. The areas were cleared by Moxie in about 2 hours when it was determined that no one was left behind in the debris. Great job Brent & Moxie!!

 

 

Sorry, I have zero other details on this so far. Thoughts and prayers to those struck.

[pjstough]

I read on a blog this morning that it was the Road Runner RV Park. http://www.roadrunnerparkrv.com/

 

Paul

[coachmac9]

Was keeping up with this as it unfolded as my daughter and several other close relatives live in the OKC area. Thankfully they all were ok but it was close enough that they all had to seek shelter in storm cellars!!

Saw an article on the RV park and they said that the park had a place to go (storm shelter) and thankfully most heeded the warning...guess in that part of the world the storm shelters are a definite neccesity!!!

[Kirk W]

It was the Roadrunner RV park, which we have stayed at several times over the years. We even spent several hours in their storm shelter one night about 10 years or so ago!

[JCTex]

Devastating is too small a word for this! I don't see the Hqs in the photo which is where I presume the shelter is. That makes me wonder how far did some people have to run to get to it? I notice the warning may have come almost too late. No one had time to pull in any slides.

 

I can only see one of the 6 or so Class A's that were there turned over. Even if they didn't get flipped, however, I wonder if any of them got lifted off their wheels?

 

I wish Escappes' investigative reporters would go interview folks and do an article.

 

Jerry

[Kirk W]

Devastating is too small a word for this! I don't see the Hqs in the photo which is where I presume the shelter is..........................................

...............I notice the warning may have come almost too late.

No doubt about the terms being weak for those effected, but as tornadoes, go this one was not large but just happened to hit in an area of RVs. Part of the problem is also the fact that the area around OK City has become so large and spread out that the usual collection of storms to pass through that area is almost always going to hit someone, where that didn't always happen back with it was more rural and homes & businesses were not so close together. Add to that TV reporting that always shows the worst of everything and which does their best to make each disaster seem to have impacted everyone one while avoiding showing anyone not impacted and it makes for a much more sensational story.

 

The first warnings of that approaching storm were issued about 6 hours before it arrived and it was predicted days previously. We happen to have been in a COE park that is located less than 100 miles to the southeast of that location and we were under a "watch" for the same storm so were closely following the events as they took place. TV stations began to make reports on a frequent basis at least two hours before it hit that area and were running constant reports from storm spotters as it moved into the area. No amount of warning will get everyone to pay attention. Spring storms are frequent in that area and yet the majority of people are never harmed. I have lived in areas with tornadoes most of my 70+ years and have never once been personally harmed by one. As a result, many people take cover at first but after a few years of taking cover repeatedly without any damage where they are, they begin to ignore warnings or at least to be slow to take cover. I must admit that we don't normally take cover at the first warning either. I'd have thought that you would have been aware of the reports like we were because our kids in Dallas area were watching them on Dallas TV & sent texts to check if we were safe? We first saw the predictions of this kind of weather more than a week before the storms came in so being in an RV we remained aware and as I write this we sit in Sachse(northeast Dallas suburb) with our kids and we are following the storm track even today because the weather pattern remains the same and this may not be over. At the very least those people are going to experience more rain and more areas to be hit by tornadoes is a definite possibility. I am assuming that since you are not that far from us, you are monitoring the progress of the storms today as well? There is presently a severe thunderstorm watch for the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for the next two hours.

 

As stated previously, we have stayed in that RV park several times and you may be right about where their shelter was, but if so they must have moved it as it used to be next to the restroom building located approximately midway through the park. We haven't stayed there in about 10 years so it may have been moved, but those shelters are difficult to move. Also, that is one of the few parks that even have such shelters.

I wish Escappes' investigative reporters would go interview folks and do an article.

As a "Life Member" of Escapees, I'd have thought that you would be aware that Escapees doesn't have any investigative reporters, or any other kind of reporters. This is an RV club and not a news organization.

[jblscooper]

Devastating is too small a word for this! I don't see the Hqs in the photo which is where I presume the shelter is. That makes me wonder how far did some people have to run to get to it? I notice the warning may have come almost too late. No one had time to pull in any slides.

 

I can only see one of the 6 or so Class A's that were there turned over. Even if they didn't get flipped, however, I wonder if any of them got lifted off their wheels?

 

I wish Escappes' investigative reporters would go interview folks and do an article.

 

Jerry

What "reporters" are you referring to? All the comments were from articles.

 

Jim

[Cyberdave]

"I wish Escappes' investigative reporters would go interview folks and do an article."

[dewilso]

I guess Jerry "Pebbledropper" is elected....have wheels will report ?

 

"RV Club" or "RV Business" ?

[edatlanta]

I lived in Moore, OK in the mid-1970's in an apartment and we ducked into the complex shelter numerous times. This area of Oklahoma just south of Oklahoma City has seen much more than it's fair share of tornadoes over many many years.

[chirakawa]

 

I wish Escappes' investigative reporters would go interview folks and do an article.

 

 

 

Obviously, Escapees is not CNN and doesn't have a network of reporters. However, I don't think this suggestion is so far fetched that it should receive such critical responses.

 

Escapees does indeed publish a magazine which produces articles on a variety of interests related to RV'ing. It's not such a stretch to suggest that they do an article on tornadoes with respect to the RV lifestyle. Perhaps one of the posters on this forum who considers himself/herself an authority on the subject could write and submit a piece to the magazine.

 

It's amusing to see on this forum, but whenever someone suggests that Escapees behave like a business, then people will say "they are an RV club". When someone else makes a comment about Escapees maybe behaving more like a club, then those same people will shout "they are a business, they exist to make money". I happen to think they do a pretty good job of balancing the two, and this person's suggestion that they do an article on this tornado or others is not out of line.

[jblscooper]

 

Obviously, Escapees is not CNN and doesn't have a network of reporters. However, I don't think this suggestion is so far fetched that it should receive such critical responses.

 

Escapees does indeed publish a magazine which produces articles on a variety of interests related to RV'ing. It's not such a stretch to suggest that they do an article on tornadoes with respect to the RV lifestyle. Perhaps one of the posters on this forum who considers himself/herself an authority on the subject could write and submit a piece to the magazine.

 

It's amusing to see on this forum, but whenever someone suggests that Escapees behave like a business, then people will say "they are an RV club". When someone else makes a comment about Escapees maybe behaving more like a club, then those same people will shout "they are a business, they exist to make money". I happen to think they do a pretty good job of balancing the two, and this person's suggestion that they do an article on this tornado or others is not out of line.

He was not suggesting a magazine article on "how to's", he seemed to be suggesting that a SKP "reporter" go to the park and conduct interviews, or am I not understanding the comment?

 

Jim

[chirakawa]

He was not suggesting a magazine article on "how to's", he seemed to be suggesting that a SKP "reporter" go to the park and conduct interviews, or am I not understanding the comment?

 

Jim

 

Yes, you're probably right. He kind of left it open ended as to what kind of "article" he wanted written.

[Kirk W]

Escapees does indeed publish a magazine which produces articles on a variety of interests related to RV'ing. It's not such a stretch to suggest that they do an article on tornadoes with respect to the RV lifestyle. Perhaps one of the posters on this forum who considers himself/herself an authority on the subject could write and submit a piece to the magazine.

If you were to go and do the research and then write an article about this, you might very well get the article published by Escapees magazine. The only things from the magazine which are written by members of paid staff are the monthly columns and those are written by staff people who do other jobs and then write a column that is related to their work. A good example is the columns that Mark Nemeth writes, both of the about things related to his position on staff. All of the featured articles come from submissions to the magazine for publishing with preference to things from members as long as the work meets the magazine's standards. I agree that it cold be an interesting subject that would probably get published if well written.

 

I'm not quite sure what or who you would consider to be an expert on tornadoes, but there are many who have experience in living with them and most anyone willing to take the time could do the research. My suggestion would be that you, or one of those who want such an article should perhaps do the job. Most of us who have written for the magazine first did so because we had a subject which we felt needed to be covered in the magazine. Someone should go for it!

 

Over the years I have written for the magazine a number of times, always about some subject that I am either very familiar with or one in which I have an interest and want to research. Payment varies depending upon the type and length of the article and there are limits to the maximum and minimum length. I have received as little as $80 and as much as $150, which unless it has changed is the most that is paid for features. Many other RV magazines actually pay better, but my loyalty is to Escapees so most of what I write is published there first and occasionally later sold to another magazine. Escapees does not ask for ownership of your material, only one time publishing rights.

 

Where I think we could perhaps get some good information on the subject of tornadoes and dangerous weather is at Escapade. A number of years ago, at the Sedelia, MO Escapade there was a fellow from NOAA who trains storm spotters that did a session on reading the weather indications and how to know if there is dangerous weather approaching. It may be time to look at that sort of thing again.