Another Major Tornado Strikes Western Alabama *Updated with video of Tornado on the ground*

[Mill]

On April 8, 1998 a tornado struck areas very close to my house. The path of the storm came within just a few miles. It was a F5 that killed 32 people, injured 258 and destroyed over 1100 homes. Today a supercell produced a tornado in the areas southwest around Tuscaloosa. It was a major tornado(intial estimates F4). The tornado lifted while traveling through my immediate area and then touched down again after it left the county.

It caused damage in several counties northeast of Birmingham. The same tornado caused damage around Ashville, St.Clair and Etowah county. The first damage reports have 7 dead in Tuscaloosa, 35 injured and 250+ home completely destroyed. One of the TV stations here captured the tornado on the tower cam as it plunged through Tuscaloosa. The hardest hit areas are still trying to rescue people and find missing persons. There are still 4 tornado warnings in my area. It looks as if the death toll will rise.

The tornado hit a trailor park and it is destroyed. Looking at aerial footage of the damage shows massive damage. This tornado hit in a populated area. The F5 of two years ago hit rural areas. I can only expect the loss of life to be worse than in 1998. Thankfully, it missed my town again. Over 50,000 people are without power, and it is expected for temperatures to drop into the 20's. We are supposed to get snow and high winds tonight. The temperature isn't expected to rise above freezing for the next few days. All these people are without power and homes and it is going to freaking snow.

I will report more as it becomes availible.


*Edit*

I forgot to mention that it also hit a Truck Stop. Over 25 eighteen wheelers were tossed into ditches and thrown across the road. One truck was carrying around eight new Mercedes M-Class SUVs from the local Mercedes plant. The same local news station that captured the storm on the Tower Cam, also has a storm chasing vehicle. The vehicle was pulled in to a place to get shelter and all its windows were blown out. Its wind recording equipment measured a wind gust of 170mph before it pegged out and broke.


*Update*

Injuries have risen to 42 in Tuscaloosa. Injury totals in the state are around 50-60.

*Update*

It seems that a lot of the Alabama Power equipment is in Arkansas repairing lines from the ice storm. There are not a lots of crews availible to fix lines. Georgia Power is sending crews, but it will take time for them to restore power. Since it is this close to Christmas, a lot of Christmas gifts, Christmas Trees and decorations have been swept away. The main thing, is that a large loss of life has taken place. The houses that were demolished were not only trailors, but large new brick houses. Some of these houses have been built in the last 5-10 years and were well built with brick and other sturdy materials. A new shopping center that was yet to open was also destroyed. It was also a large brick structure.

Please take Tornado Warnings seriously. We were having our family christmas party and we all went to the basement. We took our cats with us as well. We had over 20 minutes of warn time, thanks to the great radar coverage and local TV stations. Please remember that Tornados are NOT a joke. Even a small tornado can destroy houses. If you are driving please take cover. If these tornados can toss around SUV carrying 18-wheelers, then what chance does your car or truck have against them?

Here is the only link I can find of damage. I will have some photos later on.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/504390.asp

 

[vi edit]

Millenium, as soon as you find an address where we can ship jackets and clothing off to to be distributed, please post it. I have several jackets, and a closet full of clothing that I can ship down there.

 

[Mill]

Here is a link to the Birmingham Red Cross. They have some numbers and addresses that you can send disaster relief supplies to.

 

[sweetrobin]

Oh my god ... thats horrible ... I was watching a show on tornadoes today and it was such utter devestation that it just made me queasy ... I will keep all these people in my prayers... I so very glad that you are safe ... but I hate that so many others have lost so much ...

 

[Mill]

Death Toll up to 10 and many still missing.

 

[Cable God]

yea, Millenium, it got rough here too for a while. Trees were falling in the road for a while on the way to my GF's house.... The weather forecast was talking about snow flurries here in the morning

 

[Mill]

*Update*

Two of the missing are a 18-month baby and a 16 year old girl. The Bear Creek Trailer park is pretty much gone. ABC 33/40 had the tornado on its Tower Cam until it was swept away by the Tornado. They have a video of the ABC 33/40 Storm Chasing Team running into a Hampton Inn while the Tornado hits. You can here the train noise that the tornado makes. The team has footage of the tornado right before it hits and then right after. You can see debris flying around in the Tornado. The storm chasing van had all the windows blown out, a tree limb that went through a TV screen without breaking it and other damage. The temperature at 2pm was 74 degrees, it is now 43 degrees and falling fast. Snow is expected tonight.

I have actively followed weather since I was 10 years old. The F5 in Oak Grove and now this possible F4 in Tuscasloosa have been two events that have stuck in my mind. I followed the live radar and tower pictures of the storm until I went down to the basement. You could tell by NEXRAD radar and supercell images, that the storm was very strong. When I saw the video footage, I knew that it was a F3, possible F4. Extremely well built brick homes are just demolished. After seeing damage at the Oak Grove, and now the aerial and video footage of this tornado, I can truthfully say that Tornados are an act of God. If you could see the damage of these two tornados and the weird things that they did, it would almost make you cry. I am going to tape the next few newscasts, and try to get them uploaded to the net.









Here is a local news story:



Deadly Tornado
A tornado slammed into trailers and homes in Tuscaloosa Saturday, killing at least seven people and injuring at least 30 others as a band of twisters ripped across the state. At least 20 more were injured and scores of homes were torn apart as tornadoes struck three other far-flung locales - Geneva near the Florida border, rural Etowah County and Limestone County in north Alabama. The worst devastation was at Bear Creek, a sprawling trailer park just south of Tuscaloosa in west Alabama, where six were killed as mobile homes were blown into mangled, unrecognizable piles of debris. National Guard troops sealed off the park as rescue teams searched through rubble for any more survivors. With power out, the search went on in darkenss as dogs bayed in the night and emergency vehicles with flashing lights drove back and forth. "We are still trying to find out how many are unaccounted for. There were people out there Christmas shopping and all. We just don't know where they are," Sheriff Ted Sexton said. Debbie Watson, a spokeswoman for the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency, said the tornado struck about 1 p.m. south of Tuscaloosa toward Moundville, off Alabama 69. Sexton said the tornado hit in the upscale Hinton Place subdivision as well as the nearby trailer park. Twelve were injured as about two dozen homes were destroyed or damaged at the Ball Play and Coats Bend communities of Etowah County, deputy emergency management director John Stoddard said. At Geneva, eight people were injured, two severely, Geneva County EMA Director Margaret Mixon said. There were no immediate injury reports in Limestone County, where homes were destroyed. At Tuscaloosa, Joe Hayes, 61, said he was outside his home in Hinton Place when he saw the black, wide tornado hit a Winn Dixie grocery store under construction on Alabama 69. "I saw it coming all the way. It hit that store. Then it came right up the driveway at me," Hayes said. He said he saw the storm lift a small pickup truck with three young men inside. "I saw it throw some kids out of it," he said. He said one of the young men in the truck was killed and another injured when he was thrown into the side of a brick house. Hayes said there were about 12 people huddled in the basement of his home when the storm hit. The roof was mostly blown off his house and there was a pickup truck in the swimming pool. The neighborhood was pitch black Saturday night as the power remained out and the temperature began to drop. People were out with flashlights, bundled up, picking through the rubble of their homes. Myrtle and James Bowden, a retired couple, said they sought refuge in their bathroom when they heard the winds roaring outside. "We went and got in the bathroom. It was roaring and the wind just blew. You didn't know if you were going to live or not," Myrtle Bowden said. Debris was hanging from the tops of trees and was scattered along the roads south of Tuscaloosa. Many trees looked like they had been twisted and broken off halfway up. At the Bear Creek trailer park, Jamie Porter was not detered by law officers sealing off the site. He walked a roundabout way through woods to find his trailer home hurled across a road into a pile of debris. With it went the Christmas tree and presents he and his wife, Rosemary, had bought for their 1-year-old son, Wesley. "I think that's going to be the hardest part. Going through and finding his Christmas. I'll pull it out and give it to him if I have to," said Porter. The Red Cross opened three shelters Saturday night in Tuscaloosa County. Alabama Power Co. officials said the storm knocked out power to about 43,000 customers, raising concerns because temperatures in Tuscaloosa and other parts of Alabama were expected to drop into the low 20s Saturday night. Kenny Thomas was soaking wet at the home of his sister, Beverly Smith, whose trailer was blown off its foundation and into a tree. Smith was hiding in the trailer's bathroom when the tornado hit. "It picked the trailer up," Thomas said. Smith is in a Tuscaloosa Hospital with bruises and cuts and complaining of chest pains. In the yard, next to the trailer was a black pickup truck with the roof caved in. In a puddle was a photograph of a man, a woman and a child. A tree in the yard was filled with orange insullation and looked like it had been decorated for Christmas. Gov. Don Siegelman activated the state emergency operations center in Clanton Saturday to coordinate emergency response to the storms. Just before noon, a tornado also caused heavy damage in the city of Geneva, near the Alabama-Florida border. Geneva Mayor Warren Beck said vehicles were overturned and homes destroyed on Magnolia Street. Along with eight injured, five homes were completely destroyed and at least 20 more had some damages. Alabama Highway 27, leading into the city, was blocked to traffic as emergency officials moved to assess the damages. The tornado, which hit about 11:30 a.m., also damaged about a half-dozen homes in Dale County, with damage to West Point Pepperill's textile mill and a peanut mill destroyed at Abbeville. Dale County Commissioner Buddy Stapleton said he counted about a half-dozen homes hit near Newton. Trees and power lines were toppled in Limestone County in north Alabama, where seven homes and three mobile homes were destroyed and 20 homes were damaged.

 

[Mill]

*Update*

11 dead, 3 are still missing. It is sleeting now mixed with light snow. I am heading to bed. I will post more later.

 

[Mill]

This picture says a lot.

Updated Information


Also there is 2-4 inches of snow across much of Central and East Alabama. Wind Chills are hovering around 10-20 below.

 

[glenn1]

Wow, that really sucks.... i've lived in areas when tornados hit, and the power and destruction they leave is incredible. I was living just north of Nashville, Tennessee a few years ago when a tornado went right through central downtown... ran right up Demonbreun Street, one of the major thoroughfares in the city. That was wild, but no one was hurt or killed, amazingly enough. Those touched by this storm have all our prayers.

 

[Mill]

Tornado On the Ground. NWS survey says the tornado was a F4.