Tornado season is starting early this year.

Well it may be the end of February, but it sure doesn't feel like it today. Unbelievably enough it's 72F (22C) outside! Just over a week ago we were having snow and ice. Unfortunately spring like weather may be nice, but it's dangerous as well when you live in Oklahoma. We could see our first tornadoes of the year today. While they aren't common this time of year they aren't unheard of. We've even had them in December and January before. Personally I have only ever been through one tornado and that was many years ago so I've been quite lucky. There have been many land within miles of my home though.
The weather forecasters are recommending that everyone prepare for severe weather today. Even if we don't have any tornadoes there is a high chance of large hail and very strong winds. Matt and I make preparations everytime there are chances of a tornado. We gather all our important documents into one bag, grab my laptop and backup files from our PC's and get the cat carriers ready. They also recommend having bottled water, a first aid kit and a flashlight handy; I really should get a small kit together to have on hand. Whenever the sirens start going off in town that's when we actually put the cat's in their carriers and leave the house.My cousins live two houses down so we go over there and watch the weather reports. If a tornado actually lands near us then we head to the storm shelter in the backyard. Most times we never have to leave the house and out of the few times we have we've only needed to actually get in the shelter once. Hopefully this year will be no different.