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re: 15 years ago today on April 27, 2011 a tornado went through Tuscaloosa
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:06 pm to AHM21
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:06 pm to AHM21
quote:
During the Tuscaloosa tornado, his sidekick meteorologist - Jason Simpson - had a better read and where the tornado was and where it was heading.
There’s a story behind that. As the tornado was moving into Tuscaloosa, the radar system that ABC 33/40 was using had an error. The pixels for the radar overlayed incorrectly on the map and showed the debris ball on radar to be further south than it was. Spann said he learned that day to always have two separate radar programs to look at.
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Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:13 pm to Ramblin Wreck
quote:
That James Spann documentary is well worth the 20 minute view. I now understand why he is so loved in Birmingham. He is not your typical pretty girl weather person reading a Weather Channel report during the local news. He is a very knowledgeable meteorologist. He says in the video he knows the names of all 252 people that died in Alabama and wanted to know why each of them died. Two key things he notes, most people injured believed they would hear a tornado siren, which you probably won’t. He also stated that medical professionals told him probably 50 of the 252 deaths could have been avoidable if they had been wearing something as simple as a bicycle helmet while sheltering. I now plan to buy some bicycle helmets to keep in my basement.
I have a signed copy of his book about 4/27, it's a pretty good read for anyone interested.
Another good book about the outbreak is What Stands In A Storm, by Kim Cross.
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 8:36 pm
Posted on 4/27/26 at 8:52 pm to Roll Tide Ravens
Pretty sure Spann's house got some tornado damage several yrs ago from one that went up 119 to Double Oak Mtn.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:01 pm to Crimson Wraith
quote:
Pretty sure Spann's house got some tornado damage several yrs ago from one that went up 119 to Double Oak Mtn.
It did. Tornado hit the Eagle Point neighborhood while he was broadcasting. Same storm set off the sirens at my house.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:08 pm to Bigbens42
It was this tornado in fact. I was working in Northport that morning and outran it back up I59. About ten minutes after I got home to Trussville the polygon overlayed us and the sirens went off.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:16 pm to SidewalkTiger
quote:
I have a signed copy of his book about 4/27, it's a pretty good read for anyone interested. Another good book about the outbreak is What Stands In A Storm, by Kim Cross.
Both great books. Highly recommend.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:34 pm to BB Que
quote:
feel relevant
We can all hope to as relevant as yourself Richard.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:38 pm to Bigbens42
Some interesting info on James Spann’s views per Wikipedia.
“In January 2007, Spann gained notoriety as a climate change denier. He asserts that climate change is naturally caused, as part of the climate's cyclical nature.”
Funny how they use the term “climate change denier” like it is blasphemy. And from the same article, “Spann was countering a statement made by Heidi Cullen, a staff meteorologist with The Weather Channel, who had written that those who disagreed with the view that global warming was caused by man-made events should not be given the Seal of Approval by the American Meteorological Society.” In other words, disagree with me and your Seal of Approval should be removed. LOL
“In January 2007, Spann gained notoriety as a climate change denier. He asserts that climate change is naturally caused, as part of the climate's cyclical nature.”
Funny how they use the term “climate change denier” like it is blasphemy. And from the same article, “Spann was countering a statement made by Heidi Cullen, a staff meteorologist with The Weather Channel, who had written that those who disagreed with the view that global warming was caused by man-made events should not be given the Seal of Approval by the American Meteorological Society.” In other words, disagree with me and your Seal of Approval should be removed. LOL
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:39 pm to Ramblin Wreck
I lived in an apt on Hackberry Lane right at the turn where it becomes Hargrove Rd next to the Forest Lake neighborhood. As it approached, my soon to be wife and I felt the pressure drop and heard the "freight train". I gathered her and my 2 pups into the center of the apt. It was so loud I couldn't think. I just grabbed all 3 and held them is tight as I could. The windows were being sucked out of our apt. Huge trees were snapping all around us. I knew we were experiencing our last moments of life. I just wanted us to all be together if I could help it. Then the pressure started to even out, the sound lessened, and the wind eerily stopped. I walked out of my apt and saw the backside of that monstrosity. Trees were down everywhere. My neighbors apts were demolished. I went to check on everyone and the people that were home all escaped without serious injury. The neighborhood behind me was completely flattened. If the path would have been 50 yards north, I would not be here typing this.
Later, I got on my bicycle and rode through all the areas in the path. The things I saw I will never forget. In the days after, I saw buses full of students from all over the SEC here to help. That one experience is the reason I love this conference and really have no hate for any of it's members.
Later, I got on my bicycle and rode through all the areas in the path. The things I saw I will never forget. In the days after, I saw buses full of students from all over the SEC here to help. That one experience is the reason I love this conference and really have no hate for any of it's members.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:42 pm to Ramblin Wreck
quote:
Some interesting info on James Spann’s views per Wikipedia. “In January 2007, Spann gained notoriety as a climate change denier. He asserts that climate change is naturally caused, as part of the climate's cyclical nature.” Funny how they use the term “climate change denier” like it is blasphemy. And from the same article, “Spann was countering a statement made by Heidi Cullen, a staff meteorologist with The Weather Channel, who had written that those who disagreed with the view that global warming was caused by man-made events should not be given the Seal of Approval by the American Meteorological Society.” In other words, disagree with me and your Seal of Approval should be removed. LOL
I don’t agree with his views on climate change but he’s not a research meteorologist or climatologist and I don’t really care. He’s a good broadcast meteorologist. Good enough for me
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:46 pm to Ramblin Wreck
I had two tornados hit near my house I think they were in Warner Robins Georgia
and Rome Georgia...let's just say I was very young and it was very scary.
and Rome Georgia...let's just say I was very young and it was very scary.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 9:53 pm to Ramblin Wreck
Anyone downvoting anything in this thread can go to hell. This was an awful day in Alabama history.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 10:51 pm to SouthernInsanity
quote:
We can all hope to as relevant as yourself Richard.
Well, Robert, it seemed like you were just stuffing your vagina trying to get a good feeling while laughing at people in Alabama for dying in a tornado like the dirty count you are.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 11:24 pm to Ramblin Wreck
One of my daughters was a freshman at Bama and just got back to her dorm before it hit - they sent everyone home for the year after that - there also was terrible flooding all along I40 in Arkansas and she couldn’t make it back to Fayetteville so went to see her sister at Vanderbilt
The Joplin tornado was that same spring I think
The Joplin tornado was that same spring I think
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 11:38 pm
Posted on 4/28/26 at 5:45 am to No Colors
quote:
And it flew basically over a mile and landed in this lady's house.
I actually believe this story. I've lived through a tornado and seen what it can do with my own eyes from very close. It's insane.
My heart goes out to all that were affected in Alabama, truly a tragedy. Here's my experience, and I'm just sharing, this isn't meant to take away from the horrific event that happened to the good people of Alabama.
In my close encounter, in summer of 1987, in Baton Rouge, we had 3 tornados that day and I was 15 yrs old and working at Shenandoah golf course cutting grass when the entire sky started turning directly over my head and I was about 300 yards from the building we kept the lawn equipment in.
I remember how scared I was as that thing touched down behind me and started chasing me and there was debris flying everywhere and there was no where for me to go (I rode a bicycle there everyday from a few miles away). I couldn't see or find anyone. I got back to the building and it was only a shell because it burned down the year before and all the equipment that was saved was outside and I hid behind the equipment from all the debris flying around and watched a huge tree get uprooted and float in the air like magic. It was crazy.
There were a couple of co-workers that were hiding behind the equipment too and one of them got up, dodged debris, ran to his van (even though we were yelling at him not to) and moved it about 40 feet from where it was parked and got out, and ran back behind the equipment and within seconds a tree dropped right where his van was originally parked and the whole time I was thinking, "why didn't you just drive away?".
Right as the tornado got within yards from us (very close), it just disappeared suddenly. Saved by God or an angel or just pure luck. I'm sure we would have died had it not.
The reason I believe the other story is because another tornado not far away that day took an entire grocery store roof completely intact and launched it.
Posted on 4/28/26 at 9:33 am to BB Que
quote:
This brings back bad memories, TheTideMustRoll. My family and I lived in Pleasant Grove at that time and the tornado missed our home by two streets.
My heart goes out to you. But for the randomness of nature, your experience could have been mine.
My parents and siblings were still living in Tuscaloosa back in 2011 (thankfully they were all out of the path that time... not so lucky back in December 2000) and I went down the next day to help with cleanup efforts. As many others have said, it was a truly surreal experience. The aftereffect of carpet bombing is the only thing I can think to compare it to. I ended up in the Forest Lake neighborhood helping someone cut up trees in their backyard. Almost all the houses in that area were heavily damaged and many were mostly to completely gone, but I do remember that in the midst of all that destruction there was one house that looked like it was completely untouched. The only visible damage was a single deck chair that had been driven into the siding about fifteen feet up.
A weird experience, to be sure. I haven't lived in Tuscaloosa since I left for the Navy back in 2004, but it will always be home to me. There are still some places that I drive through sometimes when I am there (the intersection of Hargrove and Hackberry, for example) that I think, "I don't recognize this place," because it used to be heavily wooded and now there are no trees at all.
Posted on 4/28/26 at 10:54 am to BB Que
You obviously don't know what laughing is and I don't believe i was laughing at the people of Alabama at all. I merely stated that Mother Nature doesn't care about anything about nattys, in any sport. If you took that as laughing.... then you truly are dumb.
Posted on 4/28/26 at 11:13 am to SouthernInsanity
4/27/11 I think the track over Lake Martin that day is even more pronounced.
This post was edited on 4/28/26 at 4:13 pm
Posted on 4/28/26 at 11:17 am to TheTideMustRoll
quote:
There are still some places that I drive through sometimes when I am there (the intersection of Hargrove and Hackberry, for example) that I think, "I don't recognize this place," because it used to be heavily wooded and now there are no trees at all.
This is where it's nice to have Google Streetview so you can see how it looked before vs now.
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