Emergency management and personnel in and around Tulsa can only hope they are prepared enough for a weather induced castastrophe.
In 1999 the National Weather Service in Tulsa started a storm ready program. The program is what helped Tulsa prepare for severe weather.
In 2004, the National Severe Storms Laboratory and The University of Oklahoma began working to create a new radar.
It is able to forecast tornadoes 20 to 30 minutes before the twisters hit. That means it gives you more time to take cover and also allows the city to continue to be on guard for day to day emergencies.
An interest in the extreme weather has fueled Emmett Lollis to chase storms to let other know what is coming.
"The electricity in the air when you are underneath a tornado is just amazing you can't describe it until you feel it."
Getting so close has given Emmett a new respect for the power and destruction it leaves behind.
"What I'm worried about are the people who don't pay attention to the weather forecast."
County Director Roger Joliff tells says his responsive unit is well prepared to deal with a tornado touch down in Tulsa. But you must have a safety plan for yourself and your family's sake. An underground shelter or a saferoom at the very least.
Joliff put it best when he said sooner or later it's going to happen we just have to be ready.
