Cecelia and GJ’s modest dwelling on the lake outside Moore, Oklahoma is their only home. After a lifetime of hard work they enjoyed the slower pace of retirement years. That tranquil life changed dramatically on May 19, 2013. The EF-3 tornado that swept through Cleveland County, OK ripped siding and shingles from their home and sucked the stovepipe right up through the roof as Cecelia and GJ clung to each other on the couch. Nine months later, after GJ had suffered both a stroke and a heart attack, our volunteer crew from Iowa Co. arrived to help make repairs.
Cool air sliding off the Rockies mingling with warm, moist gulf coast air creates the ideal conditions for “Tornado Alley” in Oklahoma. From 1961 to 1990 Oklahoma averaged forty-seven tornadoes annually. By 2010 that number had grown to sixty-two tornadoes annually. Last year the twister that ravaged Cecelia and GJ’s property was one of eighty-two total for that year.
As earth’s atmosphere becomes gradually warmer, water evaporates more readily. The warm air combined with that additional humidity make conditions ripe for extreme weather events. Not good news for folks like Cecelia and GJ, nor for our country that foots the bill for cleaning up and rebuilding.
The few repairs our crew was able to complete were deeply appreciated as evidenced by the warm brownies Cecelia presented us with at break time. Perhaps the greater good our society could offer would be to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the warming of the atmosphere. Then we can begin to reverse the conditions that foster these extreme weather events.
And we must. Because like Cecelia and GJ’s simple cottage on the lake, this earth is the only home we’ll ever know. We are forever…Earthbound.
Cool air sliding off the Rockies mingling with warm, moist gulf coast air creates the ideal conditions for “Tornado Alley” in Oklahoma. From 1961 to 1990 Oklahoma averaged forty-seven tornadoes annually. By 2010 that number had grown to sixty-two tornadoes annually. Last year the twister that ravaged Cecelia and GJ’s property was one of eighty-two total for that year.
As earth’s atmosphere becomes gradually warmer, water evaporates more readily. The warm air combined with that additional humidity make conditions ripe for extreme weather events. Not good news for folks like Cecelia and GJ, nor for our country that foots the bill for cleaning up and rebuilding.
The few repairs our crew was able to complete were deeply appreciated as evidenced by the warm brownies Cecelia presented us with at break time. Perhaps the greater good our society could offer would be to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the warming of the atmosphere. Then we can begin to reverse the conditions that foster these extreme weather events.
And we must. Because like Cecelia and GJ’s simple cottage on the lake, this earth is the only home we’ll ever know. We are forever…Earthbound.
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