They say it was the third warmest winter we’ve ever had in the Ozarks. Nothing unusual about that, weather runs its course and besides La Niño in the Pacific Ocean has lots of control on our weather. Meteorologist tell us that though we had a mild winter it is by no means a sign we have another drought coming. No one can predict that despite all the forecasting aids available.
Modern developed radar helped warn the people in Branson, Mo., that a severe tornado was coming. This disturbance formed in eastern Oklahoma somewhere between Tahlequah and Rollin, Okla., with its first destructive touch down in Cassville, Mo., about 20 miles north of the Arkansas line, then raised up before it plowed into Branson. There was tremendous destruction in the music city, but they’re getting it cleaned up and ready for tourism. But many up there said they had a 30-minute warning, which no doubt saved many lives.
Storm tracks, I believe, repeat themselves. Back a few years ago several struck around Springdale, Ark., and the Hickory Creek boat dock was their favorite target each time. Knock on wood; they don’t do that this year.
Last year a few small ones struck west of Siloam, Ark. One went north of a ranch and then another went south of the same place, both had made serious swaths in the post oak timber. That ranch had some damage but nothing like what could have happened if they’d been over a 100 feet in either direction.
My wife, Pat, grew up as a young girl in Kansas. They had a storm cellar under the house and one time her mother was taking Pat and her siblings from her husband to sit down in the cellar at the approach of a tornado. When the house suddenly rose up six inches off the foundation and she could see daylight all the way around her while she was still standing on the ladder. Lucky for her it sat the house back down, but it made a believer out of her.
My first summer in Arkansas in 1960, Monty Smith, my partner, and I were over at a family friend’s farm in Green Forest, Ark. Ken Rose, who later moved to the Westville area, had a storm cellar and the neighbor came in a log truck with his wife and a mess of young kids pointing at what I considered simply a large approaching thunderstorm. He asked if they could get in Rose’s cellar. Ken said sure. So we all camped out in the musty smelling cellar. The storm rumbled and roared and I decided it was silly to sit in that cramped cellar; it was only a summer thunderstorm. I asked if I could leave and go to the house to bed.
That poor man with the kids pleaded with me to stay. He sounded like I was going to jump off in the Grand Canyon without a parachute and no place to land if I left that cellar. Lucky for me, I got some sleep that night.
But I do take tornado warnings serious. I have a battery operated weather radio and an iPad that shows all the storm activity in the area. I hope with my fingers crossed I don’t get caught in one. God Bless America.
Western novelist Dusty Richards and his wife Pat live on Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas. For more information about his books you can email Dusty by visiting ozarksfn.com and clicking on ‘Contact Us’ or call 1-866-532-1960.
