• From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: New Mother Nature

I live in North Carolina and we had a terrible storm last night, nothing compaired to the southern states that lost a total of 209 people, but compaired to what we normally get we have been hit very hard.  Where I live the piedmont mountains really sheild us form major storms so its rare for us to have huge tornados but they were around last night.  I'm sure a lot of people prayed very hard last night to be safe in the storms as I did, but as I was driving to Home Depot to fix some minor repairs around the house I found parts of town where trees had fallen, powerlines were down, debris every where.  I can't help but think how blessed by the Lord we were.  My heart goes out to everyone who has lost someone in the storms this year, and also for those who are still in the storms.

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  • From: Benicia, Ca.
  • Registered: 2006-05-08
  • Posts: 5,828

Re: New Mother Nature

ahsmith33 wrote:

in case you didn't see on the news this morning, this is why we didn't get to watch any baseball yesterday. The base of this thing makes it look more like a hurricane. you can see some transformers exploding in the distance. somehow it missed downtown Birmingham and stayed to the northwest. They are now calling this the longest lived tornado, and longest path tornado in US history, 300 miles later it finally ended somewhere in North Carolina. The death toll in Alabama is now 135+ and rising.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWSGJ-hG4RM

Been watching reports on TV and Yahoo news, you're a lucky dawg Tres, I sure hope the worst is over and hurricane season isn't as bad as they're predicting.......BE SAFE!

                                                                                                                Think Calmer Weather,

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What is success? Is it do yo' own thang, or is it to join the rest?   -Allen Toussaint
  • From: Was NY now FL/GA line
  • Registered: 2007-12-16
  • Posts: 2,855

Re: New Mother Nature

We have localized flooding here. River and creeks above flood stages. Many swift water rescues due to flash floods. My cellar is flooded and I've been pumping it continually for the past couple of days. That pales in comparison to what the people of Alabama and other areas are dealing with. My heart and thoughts are with them. The pictures I've seen are unbelievable.

22 Reply by ahsmith33 (edited by ahsmith33 2011-04-28 14:30:40)

  • Registered: 2008-06-16
  • Posts: 4,021

Re: New Mother Nature

Thanks Brack, but now you've got me freaked out if you haven't heard from her by now. Please do let us know ASAP.

Tres

As corn through a goose, so are the days of our lives
  • From: Southern New Jersey, USA
  • Registered: 2006-04-23
  • Posts: 2,966

Re: New Mother Nature

Tres,

Glad to hear you are OK, you are the only person I could think of from Alabama, so I was sending you good vibes, glad you posted.  wink  Its hard to even look at the devastation...its so sad!!  I can't even imagine... sad  College graduation is to be in August now, the students have delayed finals... Really unbelievably scary!!

And you were thinking about baseball, yeah, I get your drift, the impact ended up being way worse!! About baseball though, before Roy Oswalt took the mound in Arizona Tuesday, he heard the news about the severe weather coming to his hometown in Mississippi.  He pitched terrible and left the stadium after the 5th inning on route back to Mississippi, to be with his wife and kids. His childhood home was destroyed exactly a year ago, his mom survived the twister hiding in a closet with her dog.

ahsmith33 wrote:

I don't know what to say. We are alive by the grace of God, but the damage and lives lost are much worse than anyone could have predicted. We didn't get much of anything in Hoover to the south of Birmingham, but we thought the monster that came out of Tuscaloosa was headed this way. It stayed to the north and completely obliterated Pleasant Grove to the northwest of Bham. It's just one of those outbreaks that will probably not happen for another 30 to 40 years, if then. They sent us home from work early yesterday, son and I were excited to be able to watch the SD-ATL day game. But you know, we never got to watch even a 1/2 inning for watching the storm coverage. It's really sad but we will dig out of it just as other states that have been devastated.

Tres

StringsforaCURE~Helping cancer patients one STRING at a time.
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  • From: Southern New Jersey, USA
  • Registered: 2006-04-23
  • Posts: 2,966

Re: New Mother Nature

George,
My niece was one of the tourists visiting over Easter.  She is a field hockey goalie and traveled with her team. She is a high school senior and will be playing in college next year. She loved the Netherlands and met so many nice people, especially men who play for field hockey teams over there.  I don't think that there are male field hockey teams in the USA, but I could be wrong.

Amsterhammer wrote:

My son, who lives in Indy, was just complaining that it's been raining for a week there. I sympathized, of course, but had to tell him that Amsterdam is today ejoying its eighth (and last) consecutive day of sun and 70+ (21c+) temperatures. Holland as a whole had the warmest Easter ever, resulting in more than 1.25m foreign tourists over the long weekend.

It sure is a strange old weather world.  roll

StringsforaCURE~Helping cancer patients one STRING at a time.
http://stringsforacure.com/

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  • Curby
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  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,603

Re: New Mother Nature

I was out of town all day yesterday and was unaware of what was going on in Alabama.  I have a good friend who was on a fishing trip around Huntsville and he beat it back to Indiana quickly when he heard about the storm.  My heart goes out to the families of the victims in yesterday's tragedy.  In my area we've had numerous tornado watches and a few touchdowns, but thankfully no deaths.  About two hundred yards from my house high water is threatening to close a major north/south artery on my city's eastside.  Houses along this road south of me are in the process of being flooded and have been sandbagged.  Driving around has become an adventure with all the roads closed.  After watching that vid that Tres posted all the stuff here really loses any significance.

  • From: Massachusetts
  • Registered: 2007-10-23
  • Posts: 1,929

Re: New Mother Nature

Tres - glad you are ok.  My Dad was a patient at Tuscaloosa's hospital almost 24 years ago - I remember the nasty thunderstorms while we were there, driving around and looking at the clouds and worrying about tornadoes and how would you even know one was coming?  Folks from Massachusetts don't have much first-hand experience with those things thank goodness.  MY heart goes out to all those affected by this - everyone was so nice to us then, this is heartbreaking.

Sandy

"There's a lot of people that are in so much of a hurry to be, I guess, to be famous or that they don't want to take the time to learn to play and do all that.They'd rather just knock it down off a computer and maybe get on a game show and get famous..That's fine if that's what you want to do.
"We're more old school than that. We like creating the sounds."  - Tom Petty
  • From: The East Coast of Nowhere, UK
  • Registered: 2008-02-11
  • Posts: 2,284

Re: New Mother Nature

Today's happy event in the UK has taken the headlines, but throughout I couldn't help thinking about the suffering of those in the Southern States over the last couple of days. My condolences to those who have lost friends and relatives in such tragic circumstances. The storms must have been of biblical proportions to lose so many people. It's very sad.  sad

Phil

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis

“The guy who has helped the blues industry the most is Joe Bonamassa and I would say he is more rock than some rock stuff, so to me blues is whatever you want it to be!”
Simon McBride in my interview with him in Blues Matters! Issue #56
  • From: Deep in the forest
  • Registered: 2007-02-11
  • Posts: 5,296

Re: New Mother Nature

I blame it all on the West Coast!! You all can stop blowing hot air our way. Last Thursday my area was under a tornado watch. I had a 9:00 a.m. meeting about 20miles away. There was a news update to state the tornado alarm had gone off very near to me. I didn't hear anything, there was no rain, but it shook me. I stayed home until the warning was lifted and didn't hit bad weather the rest of the day. That night when I watched the news, the green line that showed the multiple tornadoes that hit across the country seemed to end at my county line. I guess my MoJoe is still working.
It seems cruel that so many of the poorest lose everything. The amount of death and destruction is staggering. As always, neighbors help neighbors and people somehow keep their Faith. I admire their strength and am already hearing stories about the good in people vs the bad. I wish I could help.     Cathy

  • From: Essex
  • Registered: 2010-01-11
  • Posts: 2,119

Re: New Mother Nature

...i blame it all on... http://news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/201104 … YmxlLzIwMT

..but keep turning your light bulbs off if you really think it will make a difference!  wink

Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them.
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  • Registered: 2010-07-13
  • Posts: 596

Re: New Mother Nature

Springtime in the South is always violent but last week was the mother of all violent weather weeks!  Tres, so glad you are okay.  Brack, did you hear from your Southern Belle?  Where does she live?

Here in Louisiana, we experienced hundreds of tornadoes, brutal winds and torrential rain the day and night before the big storms moved on into Mississippi, Alabama and further east ... just devastating to watch.  My niece was to graduate from University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa this coming week but graduation is now cancelled (they will have an opportunity to participate in the August graduation if they want)!  She is safe, but the house she lived in last year was demolished.   A girl I work with who lives in Birmingham lost both her cars and her home.  The loss of lives is just overwhelming.  There will be a long recovery ... thoughts & prayers go out to all affected.  Thanks to all of you for checking in here.

Sandy

I know a place ....
  • Registered: 2008-06-16
  • Posts: 4,021

Re: New Mother Nature

many thanks to all for their prayers and concern. The recovery will be slow, we are watching daily and it is still disturbing how much damage has been done. Many towns have imposed curfews, some school systems are still closed. The stories of people volunteering going above and beyond what is needed are remarkable. There was a group of students, athletes, and coaches from Auburn that went over to Tuscaloosa and helped clear debris for a day or two. There was Gene Stallings (former Alabama football coach, '92 championship team) out in the middle of it all cooking on the grill for many of the survivors and workers. Estimates are that the insurance claims alone may amount to some 4 to 5 billion dollars. We are most thankful that it did not hit downtown, UAB has a huge medical complex spread over much of Birmingham's southside.

Tres

As corn through a goose, so are the days of our lives
  • RickB
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  • From: San Diego
  • Registered: 2009-10-30
  • Posts: 12,198

Re: New Mother Nature

It is heartening to hear of the outpouring of support from the locals. That has been the traditional way and is the surest and fastest response. Glad those who post here dodged that monster storm. I made another donation to the Red Cross.
Rick

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  • Brack
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  • From: London, getting hotter \m/
  • Registered: 2009-02-24
  • Posts: 6,462

Re: New Mother Nature

ahsmith33 wrote:

Thanks Brack, but now you've got me freaked out if you haven't heard from her by now. Please do let us know ASAP.

Tres

Tres,
I heard this morning she's ok, she didn't get hit.... much. She's never been so frightened in her life, and just glad to be alive amid the devastation. I can now breathe again. She tells me, she is so proud to be from the South, and how everyone has come together, helping out!

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  • Registered: 2008-06-16
  • Posts: 4,021

Re: New Mother Nature

That is great to hear Brack, glad she made it through. That is one reality of southern US hospitality, if you're in a pickle almost anyone will give you the sleeveless checkered fishing shirt or the tank top right off their back. lol

Tres

As corn through a goose, so are the days of our lives
  • Registered: 2010-07-13
  • Posts: 596

Re: New Mother Nature

ahsmith33 wrote:

That is great to hear Brack, glad she made it through. That is one reality of southern US hospitality, if you're in a pickle almost anyone will give you the sleeveless checkered fishing shirt or the tank top right off their back. lol

Tres



Happy to hear your Southern Belle is okay Brack!!  I know you are relieved!

Tres, you are so right about Southern hospitality ... living in the South is so lovely ... I was reminded of this at an outdoor Jazz & R&B Festival a couple of weeks ago ...  everyone flashes you a big GENUINE smile and we have long conversations with total strangers and find it normal   wink   ...  Southern hospitality is beautiful to behold and it is especially beautiful in times of trouble or disaster...

The Other Southern Belle

Sandy

I know a place ....
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  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,603

Re: New Mother Nature

Yesterday my Son's golf team played their city rival across the Ohio River in Henderson, Kentucky.  It was the first time in awhile we'd been over the bridge and I've never in my 40+ years seen the river so high.  This morning I read where the Army Corps of Engineers are dynamiting levees near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to ease swelling.  Here's an excerpt of the news....

WYATT, Mo. (AP) — The dramatic, late-night demolition of a huge earthen levee sent chocolate-colored floodwaters pouring onto thousands of acres of Missouri farmland Tuesday, easing the threat to a tiny Illinois town being menaced by the Mississippi River.

But the blast near Cairo, Ill., did nothing to ease the risk of more trouble downstream, where the mighty river is expected to rise to its highest levels since the 1920s in some parts of Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.

"We're making a lot of unfortunate history here in Mississippi in April and May," said Jeff Rent, a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. "We had the historic tornados, and now this could be a historic event."

The Army Corps of Engineers was considering making similar use of other "floodways" — enormous basins surrounded by giant levees that can be opened to divert floodwaters.

A staccato series of explosions lit up the night sky Monday over the Mississippi with orange flashes and opened a massive hole in the Birds Point levee. A wall of water up to 15 feet high swiftly filled corn, soybean and wheat fields in southeast Missouri.

Upstream at Cairo, which sits precariously at the confluence of the swollen Mississippi and Ohio rivers, preliminary readings suggested the explosion worked.

But across the river, clearing skies gave a heartbreaking view of the inundation triggered by the demolition. The torrent swamped an estimated 200 square miles, washing away crop prospects for this year and damaging or destroying as many as 100 homes.