Thread: We were spared and blessed

We were spared and blessed this time and narrowly avoided being hit by the big F5 tornado that hit Tuscaloosa, Hueytown, Bessemer, Pratt City, Birmingham and countless small towns in between. Wind speeds were around 138 mph. This monster was said to be 1.5 miles wide and stayed on the ground well over three hours. So far 259 confirmed dead in North/Central Alabama. Our city Fairfield, is right in the midst of all these cities. The tornado missed us by less than 5 miles or we would have taken a direct hit on my house. Our area was just without power for four days, so I say we were spared and blessed by Jesus.

Our pastor who lives three miles away in Pratt City totally lost his house and everything. My wife's brother lives in Pleasant Grove and suffered significant damage to his house. Debris from Tuscaloosa (42 miles away) was in our yard. Cars from Tuscaloosa were deposited in some places in Pratt City.

The wife and I were honkered down under a sofa in the family room with football helmets and hard hats on our heads. I have never been so terrified in my life, even when we lived in Kansas where tornadoes were more common. This was a perfect storm and caused major damage in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee before going further north. Keep us all in your prayers as this area of the nation recovers.


Hopefully in a few weeks I can go back to fishing.