It's a TWISTER!!!

Sunday morning started like most mornings with the small difference that we were under a tornado watch that started at 5:30am. We didn't think much of it since it is a common occurrence this time of year. We kept an eye on the weather and when it became clear some storms were headed our way, we cancelled the plans we had to go out shopping. Emily's parents and sister are visiting us and we were looking forward to the chance to get out of the house with Carter and the Sorges.

At about 2:00 the tornado sirens started going off in Prattville. We knew a storm cell with some rotation was heading through the extreme northern part of the county (we are southern part) so it was really nothing to take seriously. We took Hannah and Dad outside to capture the sound of the sirens and the ominous looking sky, but we really felt no danger at this point.


We went back in the house and continued cleaning up from lunch. At 2:30 the news started saying that a cell with rotation that had been to the south and west of us near Selma, was turning to the northeast. A few minutes later the weather man said that cell should be coming over Prattville at about 2:54. Emily suggested we go sit in the central hallway (our designated safe area) and there was no argument.

Cooper continued to alternate between the south facing window and the hallway. At 3:00 the rain started to come a little harder and the wind became a little stronger. Cooper decided to come back to the hallway and that is when we first heard the sound of the train engine. It's true what they say, it sounds just like a freight train. Cooper took a peak around the corner and could see out to the field behind our house and saw shingles and other debris floating around in the air 100 - 200 feet up. At that point we all huddled a little closer together and just listened. The terrible sound got progressively louder and louder for about 30 seconds and then dead silence. We didn't really realize how loud it was until the extreme silence that followed. After a few minutes we went to look outside and this is what we saw from our front door.

We really didn't think things were that bad, but then Cooper's cell phone rang. It was his commander saying one of his coworkers who lives on the other side of the neighborhood had lost his roof. Cooper jumped in his truck and tried to get over to the other side of the neighborhood, but the connecting streets were already blocked by rubberneckers. After some creative maneuvering over the community center lawn and sidewalk, he made it to the other side and to his friend’s house. His roof was in fact OK, but most of his windows were blown out, his garage door bent and ripped from the rails and his entire fence flattened. It wasn't the worst in our neighborhood though, here are the worst hit houses.

Cooper and Dad spent the rest of the day helping friends and neighbors patch holes in roofs and board up windows. A curfew was put into effect and by sundown everyone was back home.

We spent the next 24 hours trying to get as much information as possible from the radio and our friends (we had no power or phone service). We still have no cable service right now (we're used to it) but we have found out how badly Prattville was hit. You can see the hardest hit areas down the road from us at the Montgomery Advertiser website and WSFA TV.

This satellite photo shows our house with the green dot, and the approximate path of the tornado.

We were very lucky.