Weather has been some kinda crazy lately
The weather has been like a roller coaster for the last two weeks, with temperatures falling between freezing and a nice sunny 75 degrees. The temperatures during the Christmas holidays got down to five degrees, and the windchill was -10 degrees. That is certainly not something we are used to here in the south. Then a week later, the temperatures got as high as 70 degrees on New Year's day. With temperatures fluctuating, this extreme; we southerners know this is a taletale sign of bad weather in the future.
The bad weather began Monday and impacted Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. I kept my eyes on the weather Tuesday morning because I knew it was coming in the direction of Marshall county. I have been more aware of bad weather since the tornado outbreak almost 12 years ago.
In April of 2011, several tornadoes swept across middle and northwest Alabama killing 72 people and injuring at least 145. It was the deadliest outbreak of tornadoes in Alabama's history. Although Tuscumbia, where I previously lived, wasn't impacted as severely, I was still traumatized and shocked at the damage that took place a little too close to home. Even now, when there is a threat of possible tornadoes, my senses and anxiety are immediately heightened. I will always remember that day that many Alabamians lost their lives.
I was at work that day and my daughter, Emily, was out of school due to the weather. Everyone in the office was aware of the bad weather, but we kept working. My coworkers and I were slightly reassured about our safety because there was a public storm shelter just down the street from our office. Around lunchtime, the tornado sirens started to wail loudly throughout town. I immediately had everyone stop their work and go to the tornado shelter. When we walked out of the office into the street, it wasn't raining, but the clouds were dark, as if it was about to be nighttime. As we entered the shelter, my daughter looked up at me and asked if we would be okay, and I reassured her that we would, although I physically felt sick from the chaos of everyone around me. The shelter was the busiest I had ever seen. People were packed together like sardines in a can. We started standing in the shelter's lobby but quickly retreated to the basement as the storm suddenly crashed into the town. While in the basement, I began talking to a lady who was nudged directly beside me in the crowd. She was worried about her daughter, who lived in Phil Campbell. Shortly into our conversation, her daughter called to tell her a tornado had touched down close to her house, and she was leaving for shelter. Because we were in such close quarters, I could not help witnessing her conversation whether I wanted to or not. I remember the lady's voice going from calculated to panicked within a few minutes, and then she was crying and shouting that the phone cut out suddenly and she could no longer contact her daughter.
Meanwhile, I had my daughter safely beside me, and I had never felt more grateful. The aftermath was devastating, and many friends volunteered to help at the tornado sites. After hearing their stories, I now stay weather alert when I know bad weather is coming my way.
I awoke Tuesday morning to a notification on my phone that Marshall County was under a tornado watch. When I lived in Alabama, Mississippi had a bad rap for getting stronger tornadoes and thunderstorms. But, I wasn't concerned Tuesday morning because the weather broadcast informed me that Marshall County was at a level two out of five for possible tornadoes. I arrived at the newspaper office at 6 a.m. Soon after, the watch turned into a warning. Shortly after that, tornado sirens went off in downtown Holly Springs. Thankfully, the storms passed through with no damage. Even though it has been almost twelve years since April 2011, the sirens always take me back to that day.