We woke up around 4:30 a.m. wednesday morning to sirens and terrible weather. I made Brandon go check the internet and make sure a tornado wasn't headed our way and he told me it had already passed! We slept right through some pretty bad weather that morning!! I don't think a real tornado came through that morning, just some strong winds. Brandon headed to work and Caden's school was delayed till 9 so we took our puppy to the vet. (Harley fell the night before and wasn't walking so he needed to go to the dr!) While at the vet, sirens started going off and we were under a tornado warning. We hurried home...as soon as I closed the garage it started hailing! I kept my eye on the news and it didn't look like we were supposed to get anything to terribly bad until later. I sat down to try to study for finals and I noticed it was getting really dark and kind or eerie outside. This was about 11 a.m....the vet called around 11:15 to tell me Harley was ok and that they were going to close due to the weather and I could pick him up tomorrow. It really hadn't registered for me to check the news, I was so focused on studying. About the time I tried to turn on the t.v., the satellite dish went out...I looked online at one of the news stations and all I heard was "tornado spotted in Athens....seek shelter if you live in East Limestone"!! Everything inside of me wanted to panic and scream, but I had to be strong for Caden. I told him to go hide in the closet and I quickly grabbed some pillows, a blanket, and the flashlight. About the time I jumped in the closet with him, my internet quit working. My cell phone also was not working. I sat with my back against a wall and put Caden between my legs with the blankets and pillows on top of us. I was terrified! I can't explain how scary it was sitting there with my house shaking and the most awful sounds coming from outside. I prayed and prayed and prayed for protection. I just wanted to protect Caden and my belly, so I was literally almost on top of them! We sat in there for about 20 minutes because I had no way of knowing it was safe to come out. I peeked out the door and the sky was clear...it was so weird! I still had no cell phone, internet , or tv! My house was spared! I finally got some cell service and called my mom and decided to go to her house because more bad weather was on its way and I did NOT want to be alone with Caden again! My parents live about 15-20 minutes away from us and it took me a good hour and half to get to their house. I could not believe how close the tornado came to my house..all around houses were messed up, trees down, powerlines down, etc. We got to my parents and I still hadn't talked to Brandon at this point. I was getting worried because the tornado had pretty much gone through Huntsville also, and this is where he works! He finally called to tell me he was o.k. and that he would meet me and my parents shortly.
Round 2:
Around 4 p.m., another round of bad weather was headed towards us. We were still at my parents and I honestly felt a little safer with my husband there too! They still had t.v. so we were monitoring the weather pretty closely. The weather man was talking about this horrible tornado that had touched down just west in a town called Phil Campbell. Little did we know, this tornado was the same one that was about to destroy my community. Thank God we were at my parents! The path of this tornado came through my community around 4:30 and barely missed my house! The tornado was due to hit madison, which is where my parents live, about 5ish. I grabbed Caden and we got in my parents closet under the stairs. No one else wanted to get in. They all stood on the back porch watching the weather. All the sudden, my dad screamed for everyone to get in the closet. The tornado went through my parents back yard and around the house. It only lasted for seconds! I couldn't believe how close it came! At this point I was sick of all this bad weather. My stomach and nerves were torn up! About 6:00 there was a break in the weather so we decided to head back to our house...BIG MISTAKE. We got about half-way there and got turned around...I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Neighborhoods all around were leveled. People were walking up and down the street in the rain carrying pets. Power lines were down everywhere. Huge oak trees laying across the road. We had to find another route back to our house. We turned down capshaw rd. and about the time we did I kept hearing on the radio "another tornado spotted in limestone county"! And that is right where we were! Brandon was in front of me and he pulled over and told me to hurry and go back to my parents. He was going to try to find a way home...at this point I was really freaking out!!! I could see the wall clouds behind me in my rearview mirrow. I was literally trying to beat the storm! Caden was in the back seat in his carseat with a towel over his head praying! Storm was headed straight to madison and so was I. I just kept thinking if I had to pull over, where would we go! All the businesses had closed and there weren't any good ditches to go lay in! I finally decided to just drive as fast as I could and not look back! We finally made it to my parents after what seemed like the longest drive! I was crying and shaking! I didn't know if Brandon had made it safely home and he had no idea if I had made it back to my parents. No cell phones were working. Back to the closet we went! About 8ish, I finally talked to Brandon and he was safe at his Nanny's. All the bad weather had seemed to pass so he told me it was probably safe to drive back home. At this point, we didn't know if we still even had a home! He met me so I could follow him. It took 2 hours to get home. Roads were flooded and power lines were down so it was like a maze getting home! Our house had NO damage! We are so blessed and thankful to be safe and unharmed! My heart goes out to all who lost homes and loved ones! Wednesday, April 27, 2011 will be a day I will always remember! Everytime I see the destruction, my heart just breaks. These are my neighbors who have lost everything! The whole community has been affected, but everyone has joined together and are helping everyone out. It is so humbling to see people driving around delivering meals and water and offering to help! God really protected us that day and I'm so thankful!
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| Some of the pictures I've taken.... |
1 comment:
Wow ash, I can't believe you had to go though all of that. I'm so glad you and your family are ok. It's heartbreaking to see all the damage.
I miss you and love you.
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