Counting our blessings...

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ToyotaNSaturn

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The destruction missed us by about 15 miles. Even that 'close', the lightening, wind and rain was scary.

Woke up at 2:30am when the main line of the storms came through. Checked the TV to see if we should go into tornado mode. The weather folks were STILL on (like 8 hours in a row by that point). This fire at a Natural Gas pumping station in Hartsville, TN after the tornado & storms hit it:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...o=207003&Ref=PH


No tornados, but the winds had to be 70+ MPH with an amazing amount of rain. Winds were 60+MPH during last weeks squall line...sounded like a train, whipped the yard furniture around, without any tornado drama. Simply amazing. And scary at the same time.


As of right now, 55 are dead & 218 are unaccounted for.


Some good news to report:

Tornado rescuers find infant unharmed in middle of field

We're counting our blessings to not be hit by these incredible storms.
 
Wow, glad you and your family are unharmed and okay. Lets pray for those that are missing and those that are dead, rest in peace.
 
Wow glad you are OK. I should have looked on a map earlier to see how close it came to you.

Saw the baby on the web, didn't know about the fire. Is is out now? How did it start?
 
The damage is simply indescribable.

Photos of hardest hit area, Macon County

In Jackson, TN, half-way between Memphis & Nashville was hard hit, too. A small college has most of their dorms blown apart. The video footage (can't find it now) of how many cars were ruined and how the campus is basically unusable is again, unbelievable.

Jackson TN & College destruction

75miles or so SW of Macon county is Fairview,TN (in my county) didn't fare so well.
Destruction in Fairview, TN

This YouTube Video shows shots from different towns
...including Castalian Springs, closer to Nashville, that was essentially wiped from the map.

That fire burned itself out in a few hours. It was really eerie turning the TV on in the middle of the night seeing a ball of fire. It was started by either very high wind shear from storms, lightening (most probable) or the tornado.

There's talk on the news tonight of this being and EF-4 tornado, max wind speed of just over 200MPH.
shocked2.gif
 
It was that one lone supercell out ahead of the line...that one had a nice velocity couplet (strong rotation) for hundreds of miles and went from Arkansas all the way through Kentucky as an isolated long-track tornadic supercell.......several spots where there was a tornado damage path for up to 60 miles at a time. I'm surprised there was no EF-5 damage from that storm...there were houses wiped clean from the foundation.

Glad you're okay TNS......I was watching the situation all night and thinking about you, knowing you're from Tennessee.

I'd make a habit of checking http://www.spc.noaa.gov a couple times a week and get a weather radio with alert just to keep abreast of the weather from Jan through about June in your area. The SPC was on top of this situation several days in advance and had the highest danger rating issued the morning of the 5th.

Most people think the high plains are the main tornado alley in the US...the mid south and the deep south are considered a 2nd tornado alley (Dixie alley) with many many major events.
 
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Thanks for the support guys. Thank you for the idea...a weather radio is a great idea. Luckily we had power at 2:30am to check on things with the TV. A radio with a fresh battery...my next purchase.

IIRC, in November 2002, a major twister formed just east of here then danced eastward and killed many. It was devastating. This one is far worse.

Just found out from a broadcast email that a coworker had her house flattened up in Macon county, she suffered some injuries. They took cover in a nearby house that in the basement, not many houses with basements around here.

Aerial footage of the storm's path

Another AP Video
 
Long ago I read that North America has the most violent weather of any continent. Folks that don't live in tornado country can't appreciate the terror and destruction that huge thunderstorms bring. I admit these things are one the few true fears I have.
 
Glad to hear that you are ok TNS. Ya'll seem to get hit worse than we have in the Huntsville, AL area the last several years. Although a tornado did kill a few from one family about 15-20 miles from our house. We were also blessed in more ways than one. A basement and backup generator are nice safety cushions.
 
More bad news for Macon county. The day after the tornadoes 4 people were killed by being rear-ended by at semi.

Video embedded on web page:
http://www.wkrn.com/nashville/news/adults-children-killed-in-macon-co-vehicle-pileup/136079.htm

Come to find more about the guy & his family that were killed, he was a pastor of one of the local churches up there. Not only that, he was heading up the tornado relief efforts by organizing food & resources for everyone in Lafayette, TN who was affected by the storms. He had a load of water he was bringing to the storm victims. Ironic & tragic.
 
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