April 27, 2011.
Unless you are new to Alabama, you know what that date means.
Eighteen hours- three waves - 62 tornadoes - 35 counties hit.
Over 240 people lost. Over 2,000 people injured. Thousands homeless.
And that was just here in Alabama - the hardest-hit state.
Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and other states were also slammed that day, which was part of a large multi-day outbreak across the country.
Meteorologists had been keeping a watchful and leery eye on the developing storm system over a week out. The closer it got to that fateful Wednesday, the more worried they became. They were expecting a morning round of thunderstorms and wondered if that might help lessen - or strengthen - the threat for later that day. What most were not expecting was the strength of the morning round and the magnitude of destruction it would leave. Multiple tornadoes and damaging straight-line winds caused deaths, injuries and the loss of several homes and businesses. It also caused power outages for many in north and central Alabama, with some not regaining power for over a week. The power outages meant many areas did not have working tornado sirens. (Which is why you should always have at least two ways of receiving a warning.) This would sadly affect the outcome of what was still coming to the state. The morning round alone was a significant event. But it was nothing compared to what happened next.
The afternoon round started with a tornado that formed in Cullman County north of Smith Lake. Following a well-known path near County Road 222 and through Trimble, ABC 33/40 meteorologists James Spann and Jason Simpson began watching the live footage from the camera mounted on top of the Cullman Water Treatment Plant. As the twister got closer to the city of Cullman, it became visible in the shot. Thousands watched live as a growing, multiple-vortex tornado plowed through the city, decimating the historic downtown area.
And then as if someone had flipped a switch, more tornadoes began to form. One after another. Hackleburg, Phil Campbell, Tanner, Harvest, Madison, Rainsville, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham...and so many more towns and communities that were decimated. Lives lost, crippling injuries, homes and businesses gone. The worst day this state has ever known.
But when the wind stopped...the healing began. Neighbors helped neighbors. Strangers helped strangers. The people of this state came together to help each other more than I've ever seen in my life. But it wasn't a new thing - Alabamians come together to take care of each other after a tragedy. It's just who they are. And the fact that the tragedy of April 27, 2011 was so expansive, so monumental - it needed a monumental outpouring of community, of faith, of love. And Alabamians responded with that outpouring greater than anything the storms could have done.
So 15 years later, we remember that day. Yes, we remember the destruction, the lives lost, the families shattered. But let's not forget the greatest thing that came from April 27, 2011 - the strength of those who kept going, the love of strangers treating strangers like long-lost family and the resolve of every Alabamian who vowed that while that day may have bent us, it would never break us.
On the Alabama Tornado History website, I have been working to get the section about April 27, 2011 finished. While things will still be added, the majority of it is done to see what all occurred that fateful day.