brent alabama tornado brent alabama tornado

Dale was the radar operator. Current Hazards But when i saw this site about the Brent Tornado I had to write. NWS The tornado spared downtown Brent and Centreville, but wrecked several homes to the south and plowed down a swath of forest more than half a mile wide. I had never preached in my Dads church nor at this time any church. A long-tracked tornado moved through Shelby. all that was left was the block foundation . Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). #alwx @spann @NWSMobile @michaelwhitewx @WKRGEd tornado warned storm last night. 82 and found a man driving through to Tuscaloosa. Flash Flood Warnings Please select one of the following: Local Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Data, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I have always wondered who he was. Heres a look at tornado reports from Thursday from the National Weather Service. Seconds later, I felt what reminded me of fine grain sand hitting my face and arms. I was 5 at the time & remember Papa having to put down one of his horses. Tropical Cyclone Reports, Warnings and Other Products #ALwx pic.twitter.com/KReKMA1wPj, Not much better in the light of day#ALwx pic.twitter.com/bFa9XvHZfI, This is Theodore, Alabama Rangeline road. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Click Link Below For Brent Tornado track: This is the interior of the Brent Baptist Church. On May 27, 1973, a category 4 tornado tore through the City of Brent. Me and my family were driving back to Tuscaloosa from Opelika on that Sunday afternoon. Hurricane Preparedness We lived In west blocton at the time and we were driving through centerville on our way home from my grandparents house in SC. Powered byWPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress. It was the Alabama Highway Department, calling my grandfather to tell him to go survey the damage from a tornado that had hit Brent/Centreville. The tornado then moved toward Coven Abbett Road and then Elbert Road, damaging several homes and destroying several boat houses. Strongwinds that ripped through the Empire State knocked out power for more than 2,000 people in Western New York and dangerous conditions are expected to continue in the East and the South through the weekend. We were as much in the center of that tornado as we could be. Fire Weather https://t.co/xsDcbnBV4r. Bob looked up at me with an uh-oh expression, for lack of a better word. The staff at Centreville radar that Sunday afternoon were Dale Black and Bob Coe. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. I was 12 years old at that time. We came to town to check on family. Re-use please credit https://brenttornado.wordpress.com/. I had turned 12 years old the day before and I still remember what happened just like it was yesterday. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Hurricane Preparedness On that Saturday night, May 26, 1973, I was sleeping, like usual. My sister and I both survived but had sustained many injuries. He also worked as photo editor, sports editor, and features editor at various times. I was 10 years old at the time. Air Quality Your help would be deeply appreciated1 Thank you. In some ways, its something I needed to see. Some of us went to church at Pine Flat just north of Lake Payne. As many as eight tornadoes may have. The tornado hit several homes along Sandy Ridge Road, where some of the deaths occurred. Near end of article, May 31, 1973 press release from "Baptist Press" detailing events inside Brent Baptist Church during tornado, NWS Study: UTILIZING STANDARDIZED ANOMALIES TO ASSESS SYNOPTIC SCALE WEATHER EVENTS IN THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES, Tuscaloosa News, "Brent Tornado Recalled". The hardest hit area was Brent, where the tornado caused upper level F4 damage, bordering on F5. We moved back home I found out that school year a girl I went to school with year before that she was killed in the storm. Local Climate Data A social security card that belonged to a cousin was found in Georgia unharmed. More EF-3 damage occurred along County Road 18, where the weather service said vehicles were moved or flipped, numerous trees were snapped, one site-built home was destroyed and others heavily damaged. Winter Products Description In Bibb County, one person was injured in Ashby as a manufactured home was overturned, according to the weather service. Flood/River Flood Warnings, Productos en Espaol Special Weather Statements Please Contact Us. On Sunday night, May 27, 1973, I saw serious tornado damage for the first time in my life, and it changed my life. The roof was two thirds gone, and the rest of the building looked as it had been sand blasted. He reluctantly let me go. We later learned that the tornado hopped across the road and destroyed Wesley Chapel Church, sparing our home and many others nearby. As we were cleaning the yard, we found loose checks and newspapers from Brent. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. It looked like the town had been scrambled like eggs. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. I was scheduled to fly the next morning, and I remember the morning being absolutely crystal clear and calm a great day to fly considering the weather the evening before. If you would like, I could transcribe the article and post it. We had a small freezer come though our big picture window We turned our couch up side down and hid behind it. Please select one of the following: Local Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Data, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Long-track tornadoes are nothing new in Alabama. Drought Monitor Severe Safety Rules Another tornado on Feb. 2, a deadly EF-2, had a 25.87-mile path through Greene and Hale counties. Witnesses say they saw a large, wedge tornado sweep through the area destroying some homes, but thankfully sparing lives. Tornado Warnings There was so much destruction, but people came together and was determined to rebuild Brent and they did. Graphical Forecasts No one was hurt in our car. I was told in the same place of horrible destruction, there was eggs in a carton that was untouched. Dale had driven his old fishing truck to work. Click herefor website devoted to the damage in Brent (Bibb County) from this storm. In addition to the obvious property damage, the tornado . Lots of power polls snapped at the tops & lines down. I have many vivid images of that morning that have stuck with me throughout my life. The tornado weakened slightly as it moved across County Road 57 but still damaged several homes. The tornado extended 139 miles on the ground. But, It was the 27th which proved to be the deadliest for Alabama. I always looked forward to school being out so I could spend time fishing around Mulberry Creek. I think he would. A series of tornadoes hatched by early spring "super cell" storms tore across Alabama and moved into Georgia early Friday, leaving at least five people dead amid ruins of wrecked homes . At 60 years old now, Im still trying to comprehend what I saw that morning. In 1973 I was a cub reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. Tropical A single tornado may account for multiple reports along its path. That was the F4 tornado that affected areas from Greensboro all the way to Mount Cheaha. Office History, Education ***NOT FOR BROADCAST***Contact Brett Adair with Live Storms Media to license.brett@livestormsmedia.comAs severe storms began to rotate across western and cen. Damage in Brent. We took off fairly early that morning as I recall and climbed to 8000 and received our assigned working area from the controller. Yet to be added to the list is the Jan. 12, 2023, Old Kingston-Lake Martin tornado, with an updated track length of 82.31 miles. It sounded like a deep roar and I could feel the house slightly vibrate and windows rattle. Linhares added that using that definition, 95 of 2,505 tornadoes, or 3.8 percent, qualify as long-track tornadoes. This storm had its beginning just northeast of Demopolis. It was hot and I was sweating but completed the message. He was covering the operation of the NWS Radar Station at Centreville/Brent when he and the staff there became a part of the story. We came through just before it got there and the next day we went to see the devastation. Flash Flood Warnings Our Office That steady, strong wind, which I think must have been at about 25 or 30 miles per hour, was indeed a very warm wind. However, with only manufactured homes in the path, there appear to be no damage indicators that will allow a higher rating.. A large tornado struck in or close to Brent and Centreville, Alabama, around 5 p.m. local time, prompting the Weather Service to issue a "tornado emergency" and warn of potentially "catastrophic" damage. What a night to remember! You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Tropical Local Storm Reports All-Hazards Awareness Booklet I was nervous at the prospect to say the least. The tornado leveled Brent almost four decades ago, but I can remember my visit to the town as though it were yesterday. You could feel the car trying to turn over but it stayed upright. The devastation was horrible. My dad stood beside Hwy. The sights and sounds are still fresh in my mind; almost like it happened yesterday. Though six tornadoes developed around Alabama on the 27th, including 4 F2s, it was the F3 northeast of Birmingham and the long-track supercell which dropped an F4 through the towns of Greensboro and Brent, which did the most damage. US Dept of Commerce Local Climatology One person was injured, according to University. There were pine needles driven into bark of trees. Brother Grady Chism announced at the benediction that the Bethel Church had been hit by a tornado. He worked darkroom for a while at the old Waldrup Studio in Mountain Brook. Severe Weather Preparedness I just remember the next morning packing up to go home and my parents talking about a storm in Brent. I was 12 when this happened, my dad looked out the back door and saw it go over our house, it was seriously scary first time that I can remember being that scared. At a certain point, the measurement of wind speed no longer matters. That room had glass almost from floor to ceiling and faced north. Interactive Tornado Map View larger map BMX RSS Feed Current Hazards The Brent Tornado was and remains the longest track tornado in Alabama recorded history. The Centreville Press published a picture of a car sitting on top of a gas station. James Remembers the Brent Tornado. Tornado Database My dad was the pastor of Centreville Baptist Church. Prientice trailer Park on top of Burnt Corn Hill was destroyed. The tornado continued northeastward into Tallapoosa County, where EF-1-caliber damage was observed. Market data provided by Factset. Partial roadway blockage on U.S. 82 near the 85 mile marker. He took off running and I still remember him. (LogOut/ In total, five fatalities occurred along Sandy Ridge Road at three separate homes, the weather service said. Info: Tornado reports do not correspond to the number of tornadoes that occurred. Severe Weather Videos Non-Precipitation Warnings Does anybody have any picture before and after of this Motel? Hazardous Weather Outlook, Current Conditions The monster storm finally dissipated near Anniston, on the western slope of Mt. So much more I could tell . John Brasher was born in Birmingham, and raised in the Shelby Community in Southeast Shelby County. Services were being held here when the tornado struck. When we topped the hill, there was a Texaco station to the left. Winter Weather, Special Programs TORNADO EMERGENCY for CENTREVILLE AND BRENT and other locations in. The tornado destroyed approximately 90 percent of the city. NWS Birmingham, Alabama465 Weathervane RoadCalera, AL 35040205-664-3010Comments? Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Bobs family was safe after having taken refuge in an interior closet. The F4, borderline F5, tornado effects ended as fast as they had started. I just recently reread the article I wrote after my visit to Brent. It was an abrupt and dramatic drop in atmospheric pressure. We got to Brent just as there was enough light to see. Dale and I dove into an office, and onto the floor, beside a sturdy office desk. A little humor in a bad situationthe tornado had worked us over pretty good. I was a victim of the 1973 tornado. Her sister, Sylvia, made the trip with me. Little did she know that God had just spared us from total destruction. My father was manager of the IGA in centerville at the time , I was 16 yrs old . This was my first time in Brent. The tornado demolished more than 12,000 acres of timber and over 500 buildings; 72 people in the area were injured. The weather service said the tornado touched down in Autauga County and remained on the ground until it reached Chambers County on Alabamas eastern border with Georgia. Tornadoes that swept through Alabama Thursday are blamed for at least five deaths and multiple injuries with destruction in multiple counties in the state. When they put her in the hospital they had her listed under the wrong name. The tornado rapidly strengthened as it approached the Old Kingston community and reached EF-3 intensity. It was not until I was in my twenties that I got over the fear of even a tornado watch being issued. A number of tornadoes touched down across north and central sections of the state that day. My husband couldnt get to our house that night because of all the uprooted trees.The next morning when we went to the house we found a roof ( with apt #s 9,11 and 13 still on some of the boards) from the apartments a few blocks from us in our master bedroom right where our bed would have been had we been living there. Dale was tracking tornadic storms that were popping up before him on the radar screen almost constantly. Risk Level: Very High. Link Copied! We told him we were fine and ask if he was ok. Damage in Brent. The tornado never lifted from the ground as it followed highway 25 the entire way. Late Wednesday night, a student dorm at the University of Montevallo sustained damage from a tornado: This is a window blown out in one of the living rooms at the New Residents Hall at the University of Montevallo photo from Jennifer Howard pic.twitter.com/O8Ewx2Czpc, Minor damage from Tornado at Brooke Hall. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sorry, the location you searched for was not found. Hi,I witnessed the destruction in Brent first hand.I was a student at the University of Alabama at the time and the next I and a couple of friends drove to Brent.It was unbelievable That monster was so powerful that all of the trees on both sides of the road were mowed for as far as the eye could see,even for years later.It was t HALE CO, Ala. (WBRC) - Pictures and reports of damage continue to come in from Hale County and Bibb county after a violent long trek tornado moved through the state Thursday afternoon. Also near Gilbertown, South Choctaw High School sustained damage, according to the National Weather Services Mobile office, which cited reports from the Choctaw County Emergency Management Agency. Rivers and Lakes Picture from The BirminghamNews The roof of the building was rapidly peeling away. We wanted to see what the conditions were like. The Brent Tornado went on to kill 5 people in Brent and continued to Mt. According to the National Weather Service in Birmingham, the Autauga tornado was on the ground for an hour and 20 minutes. A steady stream of warnings went out from West Oxmoor that day based on teletypes from Centreville radar. He looked like he was in shock. In Vestavia Hills, a roof was damaged when a tree hit it and landed nearby: In Vestavia Hills, a roof was damaged when a tree fell and hit it. All rights reserved (About Us). A typical tornado track is 1 to 2 miles long, according to weather service data. Baaculaureate services had ended 12 minutes before the tornado came through Greensboro and destroyed the old Southern University which housed Southern Academy at the time. I lived north of Lake Payne in Hale County. Farther up the East Coast, residents of Rochester, N.Y., were surprised to see what they thought was a massive tornado or waterspoutbut turned out to be "scud" clouds -- a low-lyingcloud formation that connects to the base of the main storm but does not rotate. Non-Precipitation Warnings He gave him a note to call my uncle with my uncles phone number to tell him what happened and to please come get us. Storm Data We were able to get out of the rain and get ourselves together. Another tornado, an EF-3, had a 29.24-mile path through Perry, Bibb and Shelby counties and injured two people. There was an eerie look to the sky and a funny smell to the air at my parents house. "In the 16-second timelapse, you can see the lightning that accompanied the storm during March 25," the agency wrote Friday on Twitterin a message accompanying the 16-second clip. All rights reserved. 216 buildings were destroyed, 570 buildings were damaged, 97 mobile homes were destroyed, and 45 businesses were damaged or destroyed. Public Information Statement The power did go out and people lit candles. *Note: This story was updated to reflect the adjusted path of the Autauga tornado, which upon further analysis from the National Weather Service had a path length of 82.31 miles. The worst of the damage occurred in Alabama and . I also took photographs of the town, the most poignant of which was of a clock that had stopped at the moment the tornado hit. I remember that my Aunt was living with my Grandfather at the time and she was injured and sent to a hospital in Tuscaloosa. Power lines and trees down on Alabama 382 (Montgomery Road). The National Guard or State Troopers commandeered us a room at what was the Cinderella Motel. On May 27, 1973, a category 4 tornado tore through the Brent, Centreville, Montevallo, and Greensboro area, leaving 90 percent of the city of Brent destroyed. It was a week or two before I was shown the immense damage to Brent. Severe storms will be possible across the lowerMississippi and Tennessee Valleys and all hazards are possible including more tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, hail and flash flooding, the NOAA said. Then we realized that maybe it wasnt the best idea to be standing at that particular spot. Jay Reeves/AP. It went on to cause damage in Greensboro, Brent, Centreville, Montevallo, Calera, Columbiana, Wilsonville, Childersburg, Alpine, and points between. The severe weather continued into the early hours of Thursday morning, with hurricane-force winds, hail, tornadoes and flooding rain all possibilities. Weather Service Office Significantly Damaged, Roof of Weather Service Office Centreville. He was a contributing photographer for the Montgomery Advertiser Sunday Magazine for a while. The storms that killed at least six peoplecontinued passing through the region early Friday morning, bringing an EF-4 tornado to northwestern Newnan, Ga. that left the city looking like a "war zone.". May God comfort those that are hurting & give them the strength that they need to carry on. I felt that something bad was about to happen and the deacons suggested we go to the basement for the service. StormReady This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. Now i live in Charlotte N.C. It turns out another tornado from Thursday would also qualify as a long-track storm: The EF-1 twister that left a 30.4-mile-long track through parts of Lawrence, Morgan and Limestone counties in northwest Alabama. It was a Sunday afternoon, the wind was very high. Severe storms began to batter Alabama on Wednesday afternoon, toppling trees and power lines and damaging a church and a university dorm building. That there are situations where the only thing that would spare my life is a prayer. A portion of the tornado did some damage at the bottom of the hill from the church. I remember looking out the back window at the huge black cloud looming in the background. There was a lot of people gathered on the bridge where you could see Brent in the distance. At least three manufactured homes were obliterated, the weather service said, with their frames thrown up to 100 yards along County Road 43. Updated: Mar. He also has an excellent website about the day. The Brent Tornado went on to kill 5 people in Brent and continued to Mt. At that time, a NOAA WSR-57 radar station was located on Alabama Hwy25, southwest of Brent, and just west of Highway 5. So we just went home. Significant damage to homes and trees occurred along the very wide path. In Brent near the railroad was two huge tanks that belonged to Olen Belchers saw mill was blown several hundred feet. May 27, 1973. I remember strong storms Sunday evening while still at the lake, but not being frightened. It gave me a very healthy fear of tornadoes. After being outside for a couple minutes, we went back into the station. You held your breath. I was a photographer/reporter for the Centreville Press at the time and I was at the radar site when the tornado struck. Insulation was strung on the ground and on the trees for miles. Thoughsix tornadoes developed around Alabama on the 27th, including4 F2s, it was the F3 northeast of Birmingham and the long-track supercell which dropped an F4 through the towns of Greensboro and Brent, which did the most damage.