Storms do have a personality!

When I have talked to people and maybe even done business with them on the telephone...but never had a chance to meet them it always cool to meet them eventually.. When I do...I'm like, "It sure is good to put a face with a name"...

Have you ever experienced that?

Well, tonight we had a good old Oklahoma storm line heading our way, so (as usual) I grabbed the GoPro and the tripod and set it up in the front yard. (used the time lapse function)

When I finally went back out to grab the GoPro it had taken about 400 pictures. As I scrolled through the pictures I ran across the one below...curious if it jumps off the

picture for you too??




And here is another that was about 10 pictures later..(not quite as noticeable)



Just goes to show you that these storms have personalities and sometimes they even have a face!!

#scary

"You Got This!"...je

Too much water is a really bad thing...for a house!

Lots of rain in central OK!  Forget that...LOTS OF RAIN IN ALL OF OKLAHOMA!

In fact, record rainfalls to be specific.  We've experienced a 5 year drought with lakes almost drying up (many farm ponds did)...but that's pretty well over now. Here is a LINK to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey.  If you read those survey numbers most regions of The Great State of Oklahoma are 200% over normal rainfall...FOLKS, IT IS ONLY MAY 11th!!

I suppose we can discount some of it since it all came in 3 hours (just kidding)...more like 1-2 weeks.

Regardless of the drainage plans we've instituted at the hacienda...it still fell short after a 3-5in rain in about 2 hours.  I thought we were in the headwaters of the Colorado River!!

Here is a video of the mess we are dealing with in our backyard.  The video sums it up pretty well.  We have a great landscaper who has us on the schedule...it just takes time.  

Here is my quick summary of the issue.

It rained a ton, it flooded like a river, I dug a trench, it worked pretty well.  That is all.

NOTE: So as to quash any myths that I (myself) rode a leaf down the trench
with my phone...you must know that I used my GoPro Hero 3+ in the upside
down mode and on a selfie stick to film this masterpiece.

What can I say...leave it to a banker for creativity..

SNOW DAY - EL RENO, OK!!

Kids are pumped as there is no school in (I think) every school in the county and likely all the counties around us!  I am sure they'll get caught up on homework...

Roads weren't too bad this morning.  I was able to mount the camera and shoot this video on the way into the office about 6:40am this morning.   (Oh, in the video I say it's Feb 5...lets just say it was early and I was confused...its FEB 6th!)

We still have a youth event scheduled for FRI and SAT and so far we are FULL STEAM AHEAD!!



"You got this!"

The day begins...

It's finally snowing this morning... 

Not sure why, but there's something about snow and Christmas lights that can really set the tone for the day.   (Oh, and don't forget the hot cup of coffee.)

I think it's because they both put a smile on my face...both provide a rush of great memories.

Do they do that for you too?

#okwx #WhiteasSnow

"An inch of ice will do ya!"..and caramel corn..

What a crazy ICY night (last night) and day we have had over the last 24 hours! And we are not through with this messy stuff yet!! What's it doing in your neck of the woods?

The ice is quickly approaching ONE INCH thick on most of our trees, flowers, cars and anything else that finds itself outside.  Our weathermen indicate it'll happen all day and maybe even snow tonight.

Pine Needles..encased in ice!

I've added these pictures to just give you an idea of how it looks around here.  The first is from the pine tree behind our house...it was taken this morning up close..(on left)

1" thick ice!!

I took this one about 2 hours ago in the front yard (right).  It's a branch of our little White Bud tree that maybe about 6 foot tall at best.  It always marvels how God can create something with such elasticity...and then BAM...it hits the breaking point.  You can also see that the driveway and streets are just wet..THIS IS GOOD!

We're thankful the wind hasn't come up because if it starts blowing it'll sound like rattlin' bones outside and power lines WILL start breaking. Since I enjoy electricity this would not be good. OG&E has this site for folks to see the outages, etc. (HEY!! It says there's some outages in El Reno!!)

Lastly, the one here on the left is from last nights forecast by Channel 9's David Payne.  We have been very fortunate that temps have stayed 29-32deg or the roads would resemble the trees.  But thus far we've dodged the "icy road" bullet.

OK, so now you're stuck in the house...WHAT WILL YOU DO?  Well, below is my video on how to make my favorite make caramel corn recipe...  If you have just a few ingredients...Voila!

Nice snow this morning...

Enjoyed receiving maybe another 3-5 inches of snow last night and then got to drive in it this morning about 6:30am!  Always fun to blaze a trail...but I wasn't the first one out!!

On the way home to...SNOWRENO, OK!

Thought you'd like the music too... : )..  KEEP CALM and STAY WARM.

Can you say "hailCOMET!!" - El Reno, OK 2013

Several small comets hit my backyard and it is surprising how large they were!  The one below was HUGE!! (Like 10x the size of my watch)

The yard is full of divots...and as you can see the window did not fair too well!!!  I'm thinking the roof is not good either..

I'll post a video soon on JayTheBanker YouTube channel.. Stay tuned!!

Keep all our friends who lost so very much in your prayers...and Tim and his family, the storm chaser who chased his last...

Here's to better weather!!

@jaythebanker

How to Help OKC

Tough to sleep in a warm bed, watch one of our TV's and enjoy the air conditioner.  Counting my blessings tonight and praying you can count yours too!

I see so many people collecting goods for delivery soon.. Both the REDCROSS and SALVATION ARMY can use cash donations..  All things will help!

Just got word that AT&T is waiving all data and text plans in the impacted areas through June 30! Glad I use AT&T!

Might be time to buy a new weather radio! GET ONE HERE

TO DONATE:

(1) text "STORM" to 80888 to make $10 donation-(Salvation Army)

(2) text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a donation-(American Red Cross)

@jaythebanker

Pics of powerful OK storms - May 20, 2013

Just a few pics from my twitter feed today as it relates to the incredibly devastating tornado(s) today!!

Mike Morgan on the TV at the bank who was (like all other metro stations) telling all people in this track to "GET UNDERGROUND IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE THIS STORM." @kfor

A snapshot of my early twitter feed as the tornado cranked up.. @news9

You can see the City of Moore in dead center of the track of this massive tornado.

Just got word that all kids were accounted for in one of the schools.  And the other I've heard confirmation of lives lost. @news9

This is the track of the massive tornado.

Massive cleanup effort underway in the area.  I-35 is closed for likely a 15 mile stretch to detour traffic out of the area.

HOW TO DONATE:

You can donate to the Salvation Army by going HERE!

Or text "REDCROSS" to 90999

Also suggest you try following ANY twitter feed without a twitter account by using FastFollow. 

EXAMPLEs: 

type "follow @jaythebanker" to 40404.  

type "follow @nwsnorman" to 40404

Have a great evening and donate to the area and certainly pray for these dear families..

Tornado time in central OK!

It's not a fun time of year in OKLAHOMA.  Spring is great but these storms are scary stuff!

Prayers out to our friends on the turnpike heading to Tulsa.. Thankfully, there is less population on its current track. 

Get in your shelter and pray for those folks in its path!  Thanks Gary England and crew.  🙏