I woke up at 5:30 am to the loudest wind I have ever heard. A minute later the power went out. When the sun came up we saw two trees in our neighbor's yard. One fell and knocked the other down with it. Our power stayed off while Eric was getting ready for work. I was staying home because I've been sick.
Throughout the day I watched the news. The forecasters had been warning for days that some extremely bad weather was coming. They were right. I tried to nap during the day because I knew the bad weather was coming that afternoon/evening. Eric came home from work early and we got the generator hooked up because the power was still off. We plugged in the fridge and the tv so that we could watch the weather.
We're watching and they mention that there is a tornado in Tuscaloosa. I went to college at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. We now live about 30 minutes northeast of there. They managed to get a video feed of the tornado from a camera atop the courthouse. That thing was MASSIVE. I was freaking out. I texted my friend Andrea who lives in Tuscaloosa to make sure she was in a safe place. She told me she was hiding out in her bathroom with a co-worker. I have never felt so helpless as I did when I watched the huge tornado go straight through downtown Tuscaloosa. There are no words to describe that feeling. There are whole neighborhoods gone. A strip mall gone. The landscape is totally changed.
After it left Tuscaloosa it started heading towards us. Then I really started to freak out. They said it was on Highway 216 heading towards Lake View. That's where we live. I rounded up the dog, Eric got the cat and we put on our bike helmets. We debated where to hide. We don't have a basement and the interior of our house is a wide open space. We decided on the laundry room if it came to that, all the while watching the news. Luckily for us, the tornado turned north and missed us. It kept going to Birmingham. I work in Birmingham, another 30 miles northeast of us. The city of Pleasant Grove got hit really hard. North Birmingham also got hit hard.
All in all more than 200 people in Alabama are confirmed dead. All of my friends and family are accounted for and I'm thankful for that. We're still without power and probably won't get it back for a few days. I still can't quite believe it.
Here are some videos of the tornado and the resulting damage:
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1851384337129.102012.1616390795
6 comments:
I am so glad you're safe! When we woke up this morning, it was all over the news (and we're in CA). That tornado looks horrible!!
Oh my God I'm so glad you're safe! I saw the tornado on YouTube this morning and was terrified that one or more of my bloggy friends may have been hurt. I guess now the cleanup begins? Stay strong: Kia kaha
WOW! I've read several news articles and watched the news so I've seen what's been going on BUT this post really got to me. You really made me feel like I was there. I'm sorry you had to go through that and I'm SO glad that you and all of your family and friends are safe. Gosh, still can't believe it.
I live in Arkansas, that chain of storms left us and went that direction. We had a record amount of tornadoes and it was a very scary couple of days here. The damage and now flooding is horrible.
I am heartsick over what happened in Alabama, many prayers going out for everyone there.
We saw the reports on the tornados here in Australia - how scary to say the least!! I'm glad that you're safe, along with your loved ones. Hugs (and thoughts with those who were not so lucky..).
I am glad you are OK! I have to admit, though, I simply don't understand why so many houses in the U.S. South don't have basements, especially when you get so much bad weather there??
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