Some rough weather plowed through the south today.  I know Tuscaloosa, AL was hit hard, my In-Laws live there but they were unharmed, they said half the city was leveled though.  I know the tornado that hit them started in Mississippi and kept on going (on the ground) through most of Alabama. 

Hope none of our members were hit or will be hit.  (it's rolling hard)

patchz wrote on Apr 27^th, 2011 at 8:59pm:

patchz wrote on Apr 27^th, 2011 at 10:08pm:

Tyler012 wrote on Apr 28^th, 2011 at 1:24am:

My niece lives off Mcfarland, about a mile and a half from the McFarland Mall in Tuscaloosa.  Her house and the most of her neighborhood was spared a direct hit but suffered moderate to heavy damage from falling/flying debris.  They got a number on cinderblocks through their roof and into the house.......and a two-foot tall Toyota in their side yard.

If y'all are of the prayin' sort, please think of all that were/are affected!

The situation in Tuscaloosa is beyond words at the moment! They're gonna be short on water, two big tanks gone, short on fire equipment, 5 firehouses gone, short on pretty much everything.............

Just pray!  And if you're of the mind to, give to the Salvation Army or the Red Cross.

A funnel allegedly touched down in NJ today; very unusual.
I was in Manhattan when it happened (guy I was working for is a fire chief in northern NJ, and someone called him to report the tornado), and a very dark, angry cloud smothered the city briefly, hammering it with rain.

I didn't post this in the original post as to not draw too much attention, but our grandmother was missing all night but they found her this morning, a bit scratched and bruised but alive.  Her house was blown away completely while she laid on the floor for shelter.  Relieved to say all my family in Tuscaloosa is accounted for.  Sadly a friend of the family was lost though.

I've seen several tornadoes up close and far away in my lifetime, but never that size.  The video of it approaching Birmingham AL was simply breath taking.

BigTruck wrote on Apr 28^th, 2011 at 5:49pm:


Glad to hear your family is well, or rather, as well as can be expected.

My family and friends are all well also.  The worst was my niece's roommate's parents.  They were trapped for three or so hours in the rubble of their neighborhood.

My widower brother-in-law near Hamilton, Alabama also was close to a particularly large tornado yesterday.  That tornado stayed rural and didn't cause too much misery.

I'm normally a pretty stalwart sorta guy, but seeing all the coverage today has made me pretty emotional a time or two......especially when I got a brief cellphone call from my niece.

Overwhelming, decimated, and others words similar are woefully inadequate descriptors.  And that is the breathtaking part for me.

"ROLL TIDE!"