Owasso residents hit by storm recall moments before & after the tornado struck: 'It happened so fast'

Janell Lundgren has lived on and off in Owasso for decades. She says she was staying with her mother when the storm hit.

She says she heard the News On 6 weather team tell people living in Owasso to take cover, and it all happened so fast.

>>> Emergency crews respond to "10-mile path of destruction" in Owasso

Longtime Homeowner Shocked by Tornado’s Impact

“You have no idea what’s going on,” said Lundgren. “You could hear the wind, and I heard the glass in the bedroom shatter because the bedroom door was open, and then we were all sitting in the bathroom and the next thing I know, it’s dead silent.”

Lundgren says the bedroom window was busted and everything in the backyard was destroyed.

“My parents have lived here, in this house, for 40 years,” said Lundgren. “My mom keeps saying, nothing like this has ever happened. Never. It’s always gone around us. We’ve never had to do this. It’s just one of those freak things that happens.”

‘You’ve Got to Be Ready’: Urging Residents to Take Sirens Seriously

Lundgren never expected something like this to happen in Owasso.

“They happen away from the city,” said Lundgren. “They don’t happen in the city. Well, yes, they do. They happen in the city. You've got to be ready.”

Her advice to everyone is to take the sirens seriously.

“When those sirens go off, and they’re telling you to take cover, don’t wait,” said Lundgren. “Go, immediately. Go get in your safe space. Because it happened so fast. If I would have waited five more minutes, I probably could have been in the bedroom.”

Preston Gooding has lived in Owasso for more than five years.

He says he always believed the bad weather missed Owasso, but that this experience has been an eye-opener and very humbling.

“About the time we shut the door and locked it, I saw my garage door start coming in and sounded like the roof was about to come off the house,” said Gooding.

Neighbors Rally to Help in Aftermath of the Storm

Kathleen Blue says she saw her damaged home on Osage SkyNews 6 this morning.

She says the storm hit so quickly.

Blue says her neighbors came from everywhere to help.

The neighbors just converged on us,” said Blue. “I cannot believe how many people just came in and you see this, this all happened in just an hour or so. So many people. They are all just angels.”

She said some of the people who helped her she didn’t even know.

“I had to take pictures of three of the ladies, I was in the backyard and I go, ‘I don’t know who you ladies are,’ and she said, ‘we just live down the street, we didn’t get any damage,’ and they’re just dragging these limbs from the backyard out here.”

Longtime Resident Reflects on Past Tornado Experiences

Kami Ames has lived in Owasso for a few years and has never seen damage like this.

“We’ve lived here for seven years,” said Ames. “We haven’t seen this much storm damage.”

This is the second tornado she’s experienced.

She also saw damage from the 1991 Skiatook tornado.

She is happy that all of her family is safe.

“It’s a lot of damage, but everybody’s okay,” said Ames. “And we’re thankful for that.”

Right now, they are starting with the fence.

“We’re building up a fence backing up to 96th and we’re starting with that,” said Ames.

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