A Day of Tornadoes

We started out in the basement in Dan's office....

and then went into the bathroom....

and finally ended up in the safe room while the storm passed

This piece of plywood (from a roof) was in our yard after the storm

The purple line going through Tuscaloosa & Jefferson county has one gap in it.....that gap is Trussville!

This day started out with some huge storms around 4:30 a.m. There were lots of power outages, trees down & some structural damage all around the Birmingham area, Trussville included, but nothing too major. Daniel went to school, but school was released at 11:00 due to the threat of inclement weather in the afternoon. The meteorologists on every channel were saying that the rating (or whatever it is called) for a chance of severe weather/tornadoes was higher than they had ever seen it. Everyone seemed to be anxious/nervous about the coming weather. I'm not sure exactly what time, but around lunch, stations started reporting that a tornado was on the ground in the city limits of Cullman & showing video. Pictures of horrible destruction soon followed & that was just the beginning. All afternoon, all over the state, tornadoes continued to touch down and cause horrible destruction. I had been on the phone with Mom & Reta & knew that the weather was also really bad in Moulton. About the time the news was reporting that a tornado was on the ground in Tuscaloosa, mom called to say that everyone there was fine, but that a tornado did touch down & that Jeremy & Misty had most likely lost their house. Then there was a live video of the tornado in Tuscaloosa headed straight for the downtown & campus area. Dan immediately called Leigh Anne & she said that she was in a safe place & had to hang up. We kept thinking about William too & praying that he was in a safe place. It was the most sickening thing I've ever seen to watch it going through Ttown live on TV because you knew that people were dying that very second. The Ttown storm was headed to Bham, so I quickly packed us all an overnight bag, made snacks and we headed to the basement to Dan's office. We hung out there watching the news and I was also getting some information from facebook. As the storm got closer, I made Daniel & Laura Ann put on their helmets & move into the bathtub. The tornado was still on the ground when it reached Birmingham. When it started getting black outside & James Spann said, "Trussville take cover", I moved us to the safe room where we joined the Christmas wreaths. We heard it go over & then it all of sudden got quiet & brightened up outside. Dan checked the radar & gave us the all clear & we walked outside. It was really eerie....kind of yellow. We found one piece of debris in our yard. We have no idea where it came from, but several friends & neighbors in Trussville had debri from Tuscaloosa in their yards! Wow! I'm not sure what time we came back upstairs. I'm guessing it was about 7:00, but I was completely glued to the TV, computer & phone getting updates & seeing pictures from all over the state of the horrific damage left behind from the numerous tornadoes. I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime and all of the news stations were reporting that this day was definitely going into the history books. My heart is broken for all of those who lost loved ones and homes through all of the storms and there were MANY. I think the death toll state wide right now is at 250+ and there are still about 30+ missing in Tuscaloosa alone. It is just horrendous! We are so thankful and blessed that the tornado that came our way jumped and skipped Trussville before hitting ground again. We were spared and are praying for all of those who were not. ‎

"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." I Peter 5:10