Just finished reading the book "What Stands in a Storm" by Kim Cross. It covers this tornado outbreak, especially the Tuscaloosa twister, in great detail. A well written account, I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in this tragedy, but it is hard hitting and some parts about those who didn't make it are heartbreaking.
I have been studying how animals react before a major storm hits for years. The information from this outbreak, as well as the coverage from TWC and this great team has helped us find more potential in forecasting dangerous weather based on wildlife reactions
My favorite meteorologist of all time, he is always on top of what is going on, cares about everyone, and he is a true legend. I remember this Outbreak like it was yesterday I was in Tuscaloosa with my fiancé and lost him 2 days later due to broken back and neck.
This team's reputation for excellence, public service, effective communication and life saving is so greatly deserved. I particularly admire their calm at all times and their clarity at all time. I'm a lifelong journalist and feel such pride when I see this caliber of achievement.
I live in Louisville 20 miles south of the F4 that hit Henryville. People in Cincinnati found mail , pictures , canceled checks from henryville as well as New Pekin In. This is amazing to understand it was taken hundreds of miles away to be dropped in others back yards.
The April 27th, 2011 tornado outbreak was the "finest hour" in the history of Birmingham TV. The city's TV stations appear to have all done an outstanding job and probably saved lives.
My niece, and another niece's boyfriend's son were in Tuscaloosa when this tornado hit. My niece's apartment building was the only one that was not destroyed, and she and some friends were inside. The son of the other niece's boyfriend, dove into his bathtub, just as the tornado destroyed his apartment. (completely different complexes) It was a horrifying day. I saw a video of the tornado, before I knew where it actually was. Once I knew, I felt the terror that everyone who had loved ones in the area felt, wondering if my family members were ok. My family was fortunate. It's hard to imagine the heartbreak of those who lost their loved ones.
I know that you hear about a lot of tornadoes hitting Texas but the worst part of this system MISSED US, but I've been in Texas for over 30 years and we've never had an outbreak like this. Alabama was clobbered that day. We watched with compassion. It came through us the day before and all we got were dangerous thunderstorms and we actually feared for wherever this system was going who was gonna get hit but we do know it was a close call for all of the Southern states, but Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and North Carolina got it very bad and some areas in Georgia did too. I hope this doesn't take place for years anymore
Jack Daniels-Son : True, and we also missed another bullet on 4/13/07-unfortunately, our own luck may run out in the not too distant future, as it did with OKC in May 1999. " I hope this doesn't take place for years anymore" Me too. Me too.
+Jack Daniels-Son Don't forget that Georgia took a massive hit that day too. Had an EF4 nail Ringgold... Dade county got hit hard. We had several got through North Georgia just north of Atlanta, and then several tornadoes hit West Central Georgia as well. I know that two of those were EF-3, and one of those was an Ef-2. Except for the first two, most of those were night time tornadoes, and also long track tornadoes as well unfortunately.
We got even luckier where I live. I live in Center Point, and the latest round of tornadoes missed my apartment complex by 3 blocks. MUCH credit for James Spann, Jason Simpson and ALL of the weatherpeople at ABC 33/40
Based on that description, it makes my local tv meteorologists sound like they do amazing tornado coverage. Back in 2010, we had an outbreak complete with at least 3 EF4 tornadoes and only one station was interrupting. And this is in a part of the country where we get tornado warnings, but at best 5 EF0-EF2 tornadoes hit every year, usually nowhere near a town.
I was at my parent's(now ours) house in Talladega that day,and we lived in Weaver. Thankfully,both places were passed over by the tornadoes. Reform has come to how they use the sirens based on that day,bc at the time,the EMA also used the sirens to alert for just severe thunderstorms,as well.There was one really sad story out of Tuscaloosa around the U of A campus.One girl left her bf's house to shelter in her apt building.Her bf's place was fine..she was thrown 150 ft out of a stairwell,dying.
For those out there wanting to become a tv weatherman, this is the man you should study. He is a legend and his market loves him. However, if you ever meet him, don't ask about global warming. He'll embarrass you and convince you that there isn't enough credible data to make any claims either way.
Tom Wolfe I live in Minnesota and am a trained spotter and he is loved here! He's the best in the biz by a long shot... Gary Englund was good too but James is a rock star... We have Ian Leonard here and he is good... I also agree with James Spann on global warming...
I don't think you understood what I said. I didn't say HE was embarrassing. I meant that he routinely embarrasses people that challenge him on the topic. The guy knows his stuff. I do, however, think he's wrong.
@ T.J. Anthony Marc Weinberg now works at WDRB TV Fox 41 as a Meteorologist, & he was the one who was working the Henryville, Indiana Tornado on March 02, 2012.
they really do. Mr.Spann,the bald guy you see there,is also a Ham Radio operator,and has recruited many other operators as storm spotters. He's been preaching the 'don't rely on the sirens' gospel ever since this day,bc many waited for sirens that never came.
"15th Street Road"? D: Also, they completely ignored that lightning strike at 25:45. 26:28: "Based on the ru..." -insert the "we'll be right back" theme here. Or the Nintendo Wii's crash sound.
One thing's for sure, Spann will always be better than Dr. Greg Forbes, Forbes wanted to make more of a name for himself by raising the Fujita Scale. Forbes enjoys the hype.
I think the power went out. There is a time gap between this video and the next one, and I am pretty sure I remember someone saying a power outage was the reason for the gap.
