Oklahoma Storm Shelter Company Seeing Influx Of Customers Ahead Of Severe Weather Season

Roughly a year since two early EF-2 tornadoes struck the Shawnee area, a local storm shelter company said they have seen a big increase in demand.

While parts of Meeker and Shawnee are still rebuilding after the destruction stemming from two tornados last year, Aaron Glenn, the owner of Aaron's Storm Shelters says right now is his busiest time of year, sometimes taking 30 to 40 calls a day.

“This is our first big commercial project of the year," Glenn said. "After this we have a couple schools to do, so we've got some big projects coming up“

Glenn said this commercial shelter they’re working on now can fit around 150 people inside, and is rated for nearly 250 mile per hour winds.

Glenn also said thew shelter only takes around a couple weeks to build, but after a tornado hit Shawnee in April of 2023, they saw an increase in demand for commercial shelters, as many large businesses want a safe place for employees to get in and out of quickly.

"If they lose a day's production by sending everybody home and then don't end up even having a tornado, then they've lost a day's production," Glenn said. "That might pay for this tornado shelter with one time doing that"

If you are looking for a home shelter, Glenn said the turnaround time is only a couple of days, and the average cost is around $3,000.