High school senior’s morning takes turn as tornado strikes

By Emma Burch

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    OWASSO, Oklahoma (KJRH) — For 18-year-old Ryland Mosley, it started as a normal morning. “I had just woken up about 6:30. I got in the shower,” he recalled, reflecting on the calm before the storm.

That calm quickly shattered when the sirens blared. “The sirens started going off. I could hear the beeping. About 10-15 seconds after they went off, I just felt a brunt of wind hit the house and I could feel the house start to shake,” Mosley said.

In a heart-pounding moment of uncertainty, Mosley crouched down in the bathroom on the second floor, waiting for the storm to pass. “Just ducking for cover, praying like dear Lord, please not let this be it. I’m eighteen, I’m a senior about to go to college. I don’t want this to be it,” he said.

Once the storm subsided, Mosley emerged from the bathroom to a scene of destruction: the roof of his home was caved in over the staircase. His immediate instinct was to reach his family.

“Amazing experience by the Lord to bring me out to the other side. My dad ran up to me, got me, and hugged me. We all just ran to the storm cellar,” he recounted.

After what felt like an eternity, the Mosley family was finally in the clear.

“Thank God. That’s really all I can say. It’s a miracle I’m alive. If I had run down those stairs 10 seconds sooner, I would have been crushed,” Mosley reflected.

As the dust settled, the Oklahoma standard of community support began to shine through. Neighbors quickly mobilized, donning gloves and striving to help the Mosley family recover from the wreckage.

“The amount of people who have been out here today talking to us, trying to help us, is also very impressive. I’m very thankful for having a nice community around us,” Mosley expressed.

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