[David Jones]

We had an amazing line of storms come through this morning that pretty well mashed the upper half of the state. Winds reported over 100mph in many locations. Hurricane force. These were "straight line" winds. Early reports are that some areas had whole neighborhoods torn up. Later today it is supposed to be worse. The following is an excerpt from one of our local TV forecasters (James Spann) "weather blogs" http://www.alabamawx.com/........

"The combination of extreme instability (like we see on summer afternoons) and extreme wind shear (like we see often in winter) will create a very dangerous setup over Alabama this afternoon. The energy-helicity index (a combo of CAPE and wind shear) measures the overall tornado potential well. Anything over 2 means tornadoes are possible, and over 5 tornadoes are likely. On April 8, 1998, the EHI was around 6. Today, as you can see on the maps below for 3, 5, and 7 pm, we expect EHI values of 8-10 over much of north and central Alabama, some of the highest I’ve ever seen."

The April 8, 1998 storm he referenced produced an EF-5 tornado that killed 33 people and passed within a mile of my home.

Many central Alabama schools have closed for the day and I suspect as this unfolds that we'll close the store somewhere right after lunch.

[The Boss]

Stay safe David, watch out for that witch on her bicycle.

[HaloMedic]

Boss, That happend in Kansas

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by HaloMedic

Boss, That happend in Kansas

Yeah, but she she left the ground in Alabama.

[GTOGreg]

Glad to hear you're safe David, I was wondering about you. My family in McCalla said it is bad all over. They're without power so I'm watching the weather channel out here in CA and calling them with any info. They don't have a weather radio unfortunately. Aparently Pleasant Grove, Fultondale, and Cullman have been leveled. I heard Hueytown (where you're from?) was hit hard too. Prayers are with you. Stay safe...

BTW, wasn't that '98 storm the one that really hit Ensley and Pratt City really hard? I grew up a couple of miles from Pratt City (Thomas) if you are familar, kinda on the way to Forestdale.

[Jerry H.]

It's coming through Georgia now!

[400 4spd.]

David, I haven't seen much news today, so I just went to a local news website for the latest. I had no idea how badly you guys got hammered! I hope that you and yours are safe. Greg, I hope your family is safe, too.
We lost more than 20 lives here in N.C. this month, due to tornadoes. Tomorrow we get what's left of the same storm front that causing all of this damage.

[cuz68]

Originally Posted by David Jones

We had an amazing line of storms come through this morning that pretty well mashed the upper half of the state. Winds reported over 100mph in many locations. Hurricane force. These were "straight line" winds. Early reports are that some areas had whole neighborhoods torn up. Later today it is supposed to be worse. The following is an excerpt from one of our local TV forecasters (James Spann) "weather blogs" http://www.alabamawx.com/........

"The combination of extreme instability (like we see on summer afternoons) and extreme wind shear (like we see often in winter) will create a very dangerous setup over Alabama this afternoon. The energy-helicity index (a combo of CAPE and wind shear) measures the overall tornado potential well. Anything over 2 means tornadoes are possible, and over 5 tornadoes are likely. On April 8, 1998, the EHI was around 6. Today, as you can see on the maps below for 3, 5, and 7 pm, we expect EHI values of 8-10 over much of north and central Alabama, some of the highest I’ve ever seen."

The April 8, 1998 storm he referenced produced an EF-5 tornado that killed 33 people and passed within a mile of my home.

Many central Alabama schools have closed for the day and I suspect as this unfolds that we'll close the store somewhere right after lunch.

It hit us tonight in east tn, It was bad and the worst in my 55 years, I dont know what all of the damage is till morning, Glad that you are ok David.

[Old Blue 66]

David, Debbie told me about the storms and asked if I knew you guys were ok. Stay safe. Report back here please.

[The Boss]

David, you out there?

[67drake]

Based on what I heard on the radio this AM,I would not be surprised if he has no internet and/or power.

[Sun Tuned]

Guys everybody make it ok yesterday and last night??

David, Bama got hammered. You ok?

Cuz, had enough water yet?? I got some extra here if you guys need anymore!! Plenty to go around.

Alot of the poor roads around here are washed out. Main roads good still though. That was tough. Now we wait for the Miss. River to rise and then deal with the backwater, much fun.

[The Boss]

We're due to get pounded this afternoon - but nothing like you guys got!

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Where in Alabama is Dave ?? Hopefully not Tuscaloosa or Cullman ... My bestman's wifes folks live in Cullman. They were in a parking garage when the storms hit there. Fortunately they are safe and their home is ok. My bestman lives in Huntsville. They got hammered pretty good too but all are ok. I can't believe how bad it has been. And they say another system is expcted this weekend... Man I hope not...

[Bob Rutledge]

We got it pretty rough around us, but luckily the one that hit Cartersville went just north of us. Dave, hope things are ok there with you, hard to believe 125 dead so far just in Alabama.

[Region Warrior]

Watched several vids on the net.
Hope David and everyone else along that storm front are ok.

[GTOGreg]

He's in Hueytown and nobody around there has power. It is very close to Pleasant Grove, which pretty much got wiped off the map. Unless you have a cell phone that still has battery, you're pretty much incommunicado.

Thanks Steve for the well wishes. Confirmed my family safe this morning. Hope you all are well also, I know it was heading to NC and Virginia...as if you all didn't have enough of it already with the last storm.

[David Jones]

I do live in Pleasant Grove.
We're OK but my city is basically destroyed. I left the city briefly this morning and when I tried to come back in I found they closed it completely. I tried 3 different ways in. When I posted this thread yesterday morning one line of storms had just passed through with pretty major damage. All straight line stuff. The second round of bad weather started about 4PM at the state line (Miss./Ala) and hit us at about 6. I was watching the TV weather and just before the power went out he was beginning to mention Pleasant Grove so went headed off to the basement, something I NEVER do. I peeked out through the garage a couple of times and the trees were whipping pretty good but it finally quit. We went outside and there was an amazingly strong smell of pine in the air and quite a bit of construction type debris in the yard. And since we had no power we were clueless as to what had just happened. Within 4-5 minutes the sound of rescue vehicles started and it went non stop for a couple of hours. We began to get phone calls with damage reports and couldn't stand it any more and walked over towards the damage. There was a triage area set-up at the local family grocery store with restaurant tables pressed into service to hold stretchers. There were fatalities there. This morning we made it out to the very worst area with my chain saw but there was so much destruction that we turned around to stay out of the way. There is a tornado path right through the center of the main residential area about 1/2 mile wide where there is nothing taller than 6-8 feet. That's in an area that had multiple hundreds of homes. Most 2 story on 1/4 to 1/3 acre lots. There will be dozens found to be dead in Pleasant Grove before this finishes unfolding. And this thing was on the ground for miles. I heard it was 55 miles, if that is true.

[69goatboy]

I'm glad you made through OK, my prayers to those that didn't.

[PonchoV8]

We survived in our area without too much personal injury. Father in law lost his windhshield and suffered large hail damage to his newly purchased Impala. Brother in law's car is probably a total loss. Some of my vehicles suffered damage but no real injuries that I'm aware of.