FORT SILL, Okla. -- The protracted drought that silenced Southwest Oklahoma to precipitation appears to have ended as a few local reservoirs and many smaller ponds are at or near full capacity.
However, severe weather accompanied that beneficial rain and served as a reminder to people who live and work here to stay especially weather aware this time of year.
May and June are normally Lawton's rainiest months, and so often in this part of the country severe storms bring that rainfall along with the potential for large hail, damaging winds and lightning. This, of course, is further exacerbated when conditions spawn tornados.
Fort Sill's Emergency Management Office manager said the best course of action in severe weather is to seek shelter where you are.
"Once the sirens go off we do not want you on the road trying to get to a shelter. You may get caught in the storm, you may be injured from flying debris and you may interfere with emergency responders," said Steve Gluck, installation emergency manager.
Gluck said during the storms April 17, 2013, Fort Sill officials kept blowing the sirens because of the number of funnels and rotations, but also to get people off the roads where they were in danger. He said if a storm is close and weather officials believe it may be tornadic or severe, take shelter in your home first or move to your shelter location.
KSWO-TV meteorologists Matt DiPirro and Austin Bowling visited post last year at an Operation Live Well event to talk to people about weather safety. Since Oklahoma severe weather is predictable and will likely to happen again, their message is just as pertinent in 2015.
The tornado season runs from April through June, but tornadoes can happen anytime of the year, Bowling said.
"We've seen tornadoes in this area in the middle of February and early November," Bowling said.
In addition to tornadoes, springtime in Oklahoma can produce high straight winds, damaging hail and flooding, DiPirro said.
Proactive
The meteorologists recommend people stay ahead of the weather with TV and radio broadcasts or National Weather Service Internet advisories.
"A good thing for everybody to have is weather radio, which will alert you when severe weather is coming your way," DiPirro said.
Bowling suggested newcomers know their city, county and what towns, highways and landmarks are near them because those are often referenced in severe weather broadcasts.
People should already have a plan in place for tornadoes and know where to go. If you don't have a storm shelter, crouching in the bathroom or a closest on the first floor of an apartment or house is a good place to be, DiPirro said.
Mass warnings
When weather affects the post, Soldiers, families, DA civilians and contractors will be notified by the Fort Sill Unified Mass Warning and Notification System known as AtHoc, said Ken Ray, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security's Operations Branch chief.
The computer-based AtHoc notifies all registered users about significant events on post, such as weather delays, through an email, text and telephone system. The message for delayed-reporting includes post workers' reporting times, and any gate closures.
Fort Sill personnel must be registered in AtHoc to receive notifications. To self register on one's work PC desktop, in the lower right-hand corner is an up arrow, click on that and then right click on the purple globe. Select 'Update My Info.' Here users can provide pertinent information including their county of residence, and post housing area.
Under the 'Devices' tab, users can provide work, home, cell, pager and text message telephone numbers, and email addresses (work and personal).
Ray suggests putting in many contact means, such as a cell phone number, because if a user only provides their work email, unless they are logged on their PC they will miss up the notification.
If at home and wondering about a possible post delay or closure, Ray suggests looking at the Fort Sill Intranet home page for any official notifications.
People may also sign up for emergency and weather notifications via text messages through Nixel at www.comanchecounty.us.
Fort Sill's Giant Voice will sound in severe weather, but emergency officials stress it is only for outside notification, they are not meant to be heard indoors. For internal notification listen to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radio, tune into KCCU at 89.3 FM or 102.7 FM, or watch KSWO, Channel 7. Media announcements are a secondary source of notification,
KSWO and Fort Sill will also post emergency updates to social media sites, such as Facebook.
"When the sirens sound, it is really too late to try and move to a shelter. Take precautions early. Watch and monitor the storm in your area," said Gluck.
Lawton/Comanche Emergency Management officials will blow their sirens when winds are expected to be above 65 mph or they have a confirmed tornado headed toward Lawton. They will not automatically blow the sirens when a tornado warning is issued for the county. They monitor the storm and have the affected locales sound sirens as the storm dictates. Sirens never sounded to signal all clear.
Cover
If severe weather breaks out, Gluck said you should stay home. He suggests going to a basement, a Federal Emergency Management Agency approved shelter if it's available or go to the lowest level; center of the building; away from windows, and take cover as best you can. Use mattresses or blankets as a shield from debris.
"Additionally a thing that we as emergency management have been advocating is for younger children, and not a bad idea for adults either, is to have them wear a helmet when they take shelter," said Gluck. "This will help protect from flying debris or structural collapse."
He said parents should write the child's name on the helmet to help emergency responders with identification.
Post shelters
There are two shelters on post. Reynolds Army Community Hospital, Bldg. 4301, is available 24-hours a day, but after hours visitors must use the main entrance and staff duty personnel will direct them to shelter. Snow Hall, Bldg. 730, is also available and that is coordinated by the staff duty personnel who work out of the Fort Sill Operations Center after duty hours. When there is a tornado warning, staff duty personnel will open Snow Hall and guide people to the basement for shelter.
No public shelters
The Lawton area no longer provides shelters at schools and other buildings. City emergency officials offered the same advice: Stay where you are and seek shelter. In years past, different locations were designated as shelters, but due to federal Americans with Disabilities Act laws, those shelters were insufficient and had to be discontinued.
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