April 27th tornados here in Alabama

C.Edmondson

C.Edmondson

Joined
Jan 22, 2009
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My family had a tragic accident happen in the April tornados, I had a Uncle to get killed that lived in Shoal Creek Valley. His name was Tom Lee, Tom and his wife Sherrie had 13 kids that some how by a miracle Sherrie and the kids made it out alive, beat up real bad but still living.
Today someone called my Grandmother from Rome ,Ga and said they found a picture with there address and it was a picture My Grandmother had taken a couple years back and for some reason wrote her address on it. After it was taken she gave it to Tom and Sherrie so it was likely carried over a hundred miles thru the air and landed in there yard, to make things even crazier she checked her mail and in the mail was another picture sent from Tennessee from another person that said they found it on there property, People dont depend on a closet to protect you get somewhere safe heres the link where you can read more about the heroic act Tom did for his family
http://www.visionforum.com/news/blogs/doug/2011/04/9416/
 
Sorry to hear about your loss, Glad the rest of the family made it out. You will be in my prayers.
 
A sad story for your family.
I read that one of those tornadoes went 132 miles !! That would explain the 'airmail' .
 
Thanks Guys, I thought it was mind blowing myself. I hadnt ever thought much about something being carried that far by a tornado. At the water treatment plant I work at, we found debris like paper plates and some insulation but there was a tornado that touched down about 3 to 4 miles away but to find out one carried some stuff close to a hundred was crazy!
 
Sorry to hear about the loss of your uncle. The story about the photograph is just amazing. There are some crazy things that go on in those storms. I heard a story that happened a long long time ago where a twister completely destroyed a home in a rural area. Later that day, people were helping the family start the clean up process when they noticed something up in the sky. As they watched, it got bigger and bigger, and finally, the front door of the guy's house slammed down near where the house had stood, hours after the tornado had passed.

I grew up and still live in a very tornado prone area. My home town was hit well before I was born with an F4, and Lubbock took an F5 in 1970 that killed 26, though most of our twisters are of the F2/3 variety. I spent many nights and afternoons in the basement of our house or out talking with spotters on the scanner during bad storms growing up, and though they came close, luckily, our house never took a direct hit.

I think you're absolutely right about having something more than a closet. That may get you through an F2/3, but it's still a big game of chance. My wife and I are building a house in Lubbock right now and don't have the funds or space for a basement, but we're having a storm room built in that should be able to take an F5 hit. The rooms were developed here at TTU's wind research labs, and they're built out of cinder block with rebar going through the blocks, through the concrete foundation, and to footings anchored 5 feet under ground. The holes in the cinder blocks are filled with concrete, the rebar is bent over at the top and all the pieces tied together, and an 8 inch concrete roof is poured with the rebar as reinforcement. A steel doors with multiple heavy duty dead bolts and heavy duty hinges finishes it all off. It's something to consider if you're ever building a house in a tornado prone area as they are much cheaper than a basement. I know one survived the F5 that hit OKC in '99 which had the highest wind speeds ever recorded on earth (280-320 mph).

Anyhow, stay safe out there. This will likely be an interesting year all across the heartland and the south.

--nathan
 
Thanks Nathan, My wife and i usually go to the Water Plant and get in the pipe gallery. Its about 30 foot under the ground with concrete walls at least 2 foot thick, but I still wonder if that would be safe after seeing what it done in Tuscaloosa, Man I have never seen anything like it, never. I was in a bad tornado once in the woods and we watched it pick up pine trees on the Mountain beside ours, scared me to death so now when there is a tornado warning Im usually already in a safe area, thank again to all you guys,Charlie
 
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