Broke Down Cutlass -- Day Two, Tornado Diary

[Gita]

The storm grew in might until it spawned the worst kind of tornado, an F-5 or Finger of God.

In Oak Grove, Alabama, Debra and Tom Jackson were sitting in their living room watching tv when a relative phoned to say 'take cover,' because a twister was about to hit. They ran to their concrete pump house in the back yard just as the town fire engine came crashing through their roof, landing on the sofa where they had been sitting.

The next morning, on assignment for the Atlanta newspaper, with reporter's notebook in hand, I picked my way through the rubble of three different towns, all completely leveled.  

In Edgewater, I saw a dead man slung over the limb of a tree, too high for his relatives to reach because their ladders, along with their houses and sheds, were gone with the wind.

A woman sat, hugging herself, staring vacantly through the windshield of the only shelter she had left in the world: a broke down Cutlass.

 

Tornadic supercell from April 1998 that hit west of Birmingham, Ala. The red moved east and took out Oak Grove.

 

 

 

 

** This marks my 301st post on 6S.

[Stephen Torelli]

Like the tornado your account captured me and I felt I was within the grip of the storm.

[Teresa]

I was terrified of tornados as a child, probably because I grew up with adults who were.  This sort of story would have put me under a bed for weeks.  Chilling. 

[Angela]

Congratulations on your 301st.

Wild experience and a good six.  Takes the house and leaves the car.  How awful.

[Gita]

Tercentenary. Must remember that.

[Simon Halliday]

Congrats on your tercentenary ! Your tornado egg is very well written. I was intrigued to read this latest wondering how you would follow the earlier piece.

I wasn't disappointed. You've followed cause with effect, and it has the reporter's tone: objective clarity phrased with an understanding of the human calamity.

Cool beanz.

[Mike Handley]

Congratulations on your 301st, G. This is an outstanding account, which reminds me of why the AJC was thrilled to have you covering Alabama.

[Toby Tucker Hecht]

This must have been terrifying to behold.  I was once a witness to a tornado that took off roofs and downed trees but it was a relatively thin twister that did a lot of damage to a small area only.  The noise it made was eerie and the color of the sky was a dark avocado.  I was never so frightened and helpless.

[Joey Delgado]

What a great account! Fire engine crashing through a roof! This storm sounds downright apocalyptic. The only experience I have with tornadoes is the move Twister. #5 is particularly chilling.