I am actually a native of Tuscaloosa, and all 3 of the places I lived took near misses from the storm. New Hall, right behind the President's mansion, was already being slated for demolition in 2011, but only lost a few shingles. University Commons just missed out as the tornado hit Alberta. Green Grove got closer to the tornado, but the first house I lived in was spared a direct hit; there is a YouTube video from a house in the neighborhood that the tornado clearly passed over given the sound it made.


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(04-27-2016 09:48 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(04-27-2016 09:46 AM)gsu95 Wrote:  Wow, had forgotten about that given all the events and disasters that happened since. When it doesn't impact you personally it doesn't carry the impact, obviously. I sometimes joke I wish a hurricane would hit Georgia coast and blow all the yankees back up north, but truth is I don't ever want to see that level of devastation anywhere.

Thanks for reminder. Where were you when that happened?

In Tuscaloosa. It passed within 150 yards of me.

I remember walking down 15th street right after it happened.

Source?

I have a cousin who lives with her husband in The Downs off Hargrove Road. I was driving home from work when my brother called to tell me that they had some damage but were okay. That was the first I had heard of it. I walked into the house, flipped on the TV, and the first thing I saw was the film that was shot by the Alabama football film guy from the upper floor of the coliseum looking south. From that angle it looked like the tornado was right on top of my cousin's house (it was actually a few blocks away). I'm really glad my brother called, because I would have been pretty upset if the first news I had was watching that film on TV.

Another memory is that my son and I attended the Iron Bowl that year. At halftime, the Auburn and Alabama bands joined on the field to pay tribute to the victims. It was a very moving moment. On the way back home, we drove through Tuscaloosa and drove right down 15th Street. That many months later, it was still an incredible sight.