The Tornado of 05/08

I’ve not put anything up here the last few days. I’ve sorta been out of pocket. There were a couple of tornadoes that came through here.

We’re still living with my dad in New Albany for the time being (hopefully we get our own place SOON!) Friday afternoon we were over in Oxford looking at a few houses and running some errands. As we were starting to leave, it got really dark and rainy in the middle of the afternoon. I stopped for some gas and it got heavy.

Driving across Highway 30 towards New Albany, I kept the radio on and would hear the National Weather Service give the updates of T-storm warnings and even a tornado warning. But it was about 10 miles behind us by that time. We drove through some really crazy looking lightning, but ended up getting ahead of the storm to where we could drive without the wipers on.

We got to my dads and it was still a dark sky. Rumbles of thunder. Cool lightning. But not much rain. But I knew it was coming. Soon after we got home it started getting bad. Then worse. Then it was raining sideways. I tried to get a radio tuned into a weather report, but then the power went out. Everyone was down in the basement. About 11 people and 3 dogs. Trees were going nuts outside, and my dad said that a huge tree across the street from the house was now laying across the road and into his yard. That’s why we had no power.

It disappeared. I could go out and see trees down and hear the weather sirens and emergency vehicle sirens everywhere. I called my mom because she could tell me what she saw on her tv. She said another was headed this way in a matter of minutes. So I moved a car out from under a tree then hunkered down again. Tornado #2 came by.

With no electricity,  we went to Tupelo to stay w/ my out-laws. But leaving town I could tell it had been pretty serious close by. There were state troopers and sheriff’s deputies everywhere. Traffic was bumper to bumper in town. And there were vehicles w/ flashing lights going everywhere.

But today, as I drove back across Highway 30 through Union County, I saw TONS of trees wrenched out of the ground and buildings smashed or ripped open. Looks like Enterprise and Pinedale caught the brunt of things. On the way back from lunch I had to be diverted through county roads because Highway 30 was closed so the power companies could reset poles and restring the power lines.

But some of the messy stuff in New Albany was within a half of a mile from the house. It was some nasty weather. So I’m thankful. But I pray for those who lost their homes too.

Here are a few links with pictures. I have a little bit of video I might can get up later tonight too. No funnel cloud (I’d like to see one (I think)), but just from around the house here.

Lives spared, but not property
Pictures
NA News Exchange