Yesterday was the 11-year anniversary of the historic "mother of all tornado storms" that swept through
Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia (amongst other places) and killed a lot of folks.
Nothing like it ever before and thank God, not since...
In my region alone, over 50 tornados were on the ground at once at one point!
Thankfully, this particular part of the state (with its' ridges and peaks) doesn't ever see tornados
(we've only had one recorded in the last 50 years in this county, for example) but directly below
us along the I-81 corridor, it got freaking NUTS...
I remember that night well, as the wife and I both were involved with the Red Cross then.
(I'm an amateur weather nut anyways, so I was quite the busy beaver at that point anyways...)
As these storms rolled in late in the evening, we jumped in the truck and hauled *** down towards Newport
right after the first of the twisters hit down along the NC border - only to find ourselves in FRONT of
the next one, coming up right behind us!
These things were literally rolling up the I-81 corridor right behind one another like commuters...
I saw destruction that night the likes of which I pray never to see again (and yes, several casualties also).
We spent the next several days helping best we could - there were literally dozens of volunteers
doing their thing to help (it is the Volunteer state, after all).
I've never seen a storm remove an asphalt road before - that was just unfathomable for me.
Down at Camp Creek, TN, a half dozen perished and everything - trees, buildings, you name it - was
leveled, flattened like pancakes.
Never happened before in this part of the country - and I pray it never does again - but thank the Lord,
these ridges I've chosen to live in the last 30 years are natural breaks against such things.
