Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

On April 27th, 2011, I was teaching Animation in the Tuscaloosa City Schools and also, like most teachers, had a job as a bus driver. I got to work at 5:30 a.m. and was told to go home, the National Weather Service had said the weather would be "quite severe" and school was called off. I decided to go do something I hadn't done in a while and went to the Birmingham Museum of Art, which was near my home in Hoover. My ex called me and said there was a tornado bearing-down on Tuscaloosa and what should she do. I told her to get our children and a mattress and go into the hallway with all of the doors closed. She did this and the vortex narrowly missed that home. My students on my bus were not so lucky, and most of my route was devastated. In fact, had I been taking them back home, I would not be here to write about this today. There were over 60 persons killed in this storm and my last day in Tuscaloosa was 4.5 years after this event and you could still see the damage in places. It literally changed how the city looked. I was writing for the Adorama Learning Center at the time and ended up doing a story about the media coming into my neighborhoods and working. It was an odd feeling being on the other side of the coin. You can read that article here:


https://www.adorama.com/alc/0013076/blogarticle/First-Person-Tornado

The shot I am showing you here got national play and is an iconic photo of the event in that community. I have been asked several times to allow its' use and always do.

In the days after the tornado, I and my friend Samantha walked my bus route and I checked on as many of my kids as I could. The day before the tornado, I had 50 kids on my bus, but the next day that we picked up, a few weeks later, I had 5. The rest had been displaced. None thankfully were hurt though. Anyway, here is the photo:

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Thanks so much for the photo and the back story.

James56 Loc: Nashville, Tennessee

I admire you did to give good advice. That storm was devastating, I remember it as we had severe storm warnings here in Nashville as well. There is nothing more scary than a huge tornado. In a related story. I drove through the city of Joplin Missouri hours after that massive storm back in 2011. What I saw nothing but pure hell. Entire blocks for miles were completely flattened...no homes, no trees, everything gone nothing but debris scattered everywhere. Something like 150 killed. Probably the worst tornado to hit a community in recent history.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Yeah, I remember that as well. The newspaper in Tuscaloosa actually sent a care package to the staff of the paper there to help them get through the long hours that they had endured. The tornado that went through Tuscaloosa that day is still considered the largest F4 to go through the state. Gardendale, which is just northwest of Birmingham, also got hit severely. I actually saw the tornado as it was going north of Birmingham. I was trained as a storm spotter and saw the wall cloud very clearly. I was in the parking lot of the McDonald's across the street from the Galleria mall and watched it. You could even see the debris hanging in the wall cloud. An amazing sight.

gary35243

I remember that tornado and that day very well. I also can still hear James Spann "Spann Man" doing his televised weather report and the status of that humongous black thunderstorm and tornado bearing down on Tuscaloosa from the west. It tore up my hometown quite significantly either through direct storm damage or the collateral effects from displaced families. Thanks for sharing!

J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

A very touching image.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

That’s quite a story and photo.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Ha. Yup. I actually know James and he is a good guy, although you can't tell the Fujita number of a tornado by looking at it on the doppler radar. Hahaha! The NWS office in Centerville hates when he does that. And if James takes off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves, it's fixin' to get real. Hahaha. I miss seeing him. And if I am correct, that zip code you have is for the University of Alabama? Roll Tide!

gary35243

No, its Cahaba Heights or more correctly known as Vestavia Hills, right next door to Mountain Brook.

James' mom taught English at Tuscaloosa High School and I was lucky enough to go through her class!

Back in the mid 70s I remember James Spann and Dave Beard together as radio DJs on Tuscaloosa's WTBC 1230 on the AM dial. What great memories!!

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Ha! That's old school. I know Dave, too and also buddies with Kip Tyner. All the old channel 33 folks. I worked at the Tuscaloosa News and ran into all of them regularly.