Tornado Safety Rules, Awareness Weeks 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. On I-65 at Greensprings Avenue, a power line was down blocking about three-quarters of the interstate, according to police radio traffic: From the ALDOT camera at Greensprings/65. I will never forget going over to Brent on the Bypass. Do you have any info on this Co.? The Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys Highway Patrol Division reports the following road conditions: Bibb County Reports of trees down on Alabama 5 South of Brent. The Autauga tornado was a dreaded long-track tornado, with a path that was 82 miles long. As many as eight tornadoes may have. Me and my family were driving back to Tuscaloosa from Opelika on that Sunday afternoon. 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. Rivers and Lakes We already had tree down on our porch seeing lightning balls burst in the field outside. The tornado is one of the 10 longest tornado tracks on record in Alabama, coming in at No. The Centreville Press published a picture of a car sitting on top of a gas station. Your help would be deeply appreciated1 Thank you. After Centreville, he also worked for newspapers in St. Clair County, Chilton County, and Escambia County. Eric's Weather Library, Maximum Rated Tornado The F4/F5 Database, NOAA Recorded Tornado Touchdowns Tornado Enviroment Browser, Sites dedicated to specific tornado events. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Path of Major Destruction 135 Miles Long, Southern University/Southern Academy,Greensboro, 36th Anniversary of Brent Tornado, CentrevillePress, Like a Bush Hog on a Rock Pile & The Famous BrentTornado, A ride through 2013 Centreville and Brent. I had never preached in my Dads church nor at this time any church. One person was injured, according to University of Montevallo police. When we got there the wind was blowing real hard and the sky was constantly light up with lightening. That there are situations where the only thing that would spare my life is a prayer. Suddenly, Bob and I felt very sharp pain in our ears. 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. The next thing I remember is seeing stuff flying all around me. Regional Highs/Lows/Rainfall, Forecasts The tornado continued northeast to County Road 42, causing massive tree damage along Autauga Creek. The night before the storm, he was covering a rodeo in Centreville. Be safe! 72 people were injured and one person was killed in Greensboro. 82 coming into Centerville when we saw the blackest cloud we had ever seen. A string of those tornado reports likely came from one storm, one long-lived supercell storm. Office History, Education Flood Products Description Severe Weather Outbreak Spawned Damaging Tornadoes in Alabama, Georgia Its still amazing to think about what went on that day. The three of us were unhurt, but not unaffected. A typical tornado track is 1 to 2 miles long, according to weather service data. The Brent Tornado went on to kill 5 people in Brent and continued to Mt. Severe Weather 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. The SPC issued a HIGH Risk for a tornado outbreak with strong long track tornadoes.This is footage from the Brent, AL long track tornado. I think I can remember this correctly, but we had been camping since Thursday the week before. I was stationed at old Craig AFB in Selma and was a T-37 instructor pilot. The tornado was a mile wide at that point and we had no idea we were driving right into it. We all met in the hallway and headed for the lobby of the building. It still scares me till this day when i hear that a Tornado is near. Our Office I remember going through what once was Brent.I remember seeing a gas station made of cinder blocks and it was completely leveled. The tornado hit several homes along Sandy Ridge Road, where some of the deaths occurred. 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. The weather service noted that the damage here, rated high-end EF-2, could be partly due to the interaction of the tornado with the lake surface, as well as the exposed nature of these homes.. At Least 5 Deaths, Extensive Damage Reported in Alabama, Georgia as TORNADO DEBRIS SIGNATURE NOTED ON RADAR. As we got even closer we could then see what had transpired. So I dont know what it looked like before the tornado. At least two homes were shifted from their foundation. Born in Bham, raised in Shelby community in SE Shelby County. We watched Dale pull out of the parking lot on onto the road. On May 27, 1973, Brent was almost completely destroyed by an F4 tornado during an outbreak of violent weather in the Deep South, killing 5 people and injuring 56 in the area. Some were not as lucky. The article included a photo of then-Mayor Melford Worrell addressing a group of merchants whose businesses had been destroyed. Weve been hit and other info was phoned in to Oxmoor. I had just gotten out of hospital. However, one man was killed when the roof and walls collapsed. Info: Tornado reports do not correspond to the number of tornadoes that occurred. Starting on May 22nd and 23rd, tornadoes dropped out of the sky across portions of Texas. We started hearing stuff hitting up against the house. Here are the longest tornado tracks on record in Alabama. Severe Safety Rules What was that! I found out later that people died in that church. Conciencia y Preparacin, Weather Safety My dad said the storms path was a mile wide. Thank God she wouldnt go. The weather service has a list of the longest tracks for tornadoes in Alabama. This email from Chris Golden of Tuscaloosa, used here with his permission. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. *Tornado risk is calculated from the destruction path that has occured within 30 miles of the location. State Troopers reported sighting the storm to the Birmingham Forecast Office located at 11 West Oxmoor Road. ALABAMA TORNADO Brent, AL (Mile Wide EF3) March 25, 2021 HIGH RISK My granddad died in 1979. I dont recall the buildup to the storm, but I remember my mom and dad calling my brother and me from the yard into a makeshift storm area dug underneath our front porch. More damage continued to the northeast along County Road 140, where two people were killed in separate homes at the eastern end of the road. it was fairly beat up even before the storm. It was in a 11 yr old eyes the pain people was going through and trying to come to grips with it never had i seen the power as i did that day. A year earlier I had been called to preach. Bob looked up at me with an uh-oh expression, for lack of a better word. March 25, 2021 Brent Alabama Tornado Damage - YouTube Bob was at the teletype sending a message regarding another storm in another part of central Alabama that was also being tracked. At that time, a NOAA WSR-57 radar station was located on Alabama Hwy25, southwest of Brent, and just west of Highway 5. He was gracious enough today to share his acccount. Late that Sunday afternoon, NWS staff at the site detected a tornado forming in Demopolis. Bob was preaching. Dale had driven his old fishing truck to work. Justice prevails. The tornado extended 139 miles on the ground. I always looked forward to school being out so I could spend time fishing around Mulberry Creek. So much more I could tell . Well hell, it even took the road up, said my granddad. Hurricane Preparedness The National Weather Service (NWS)forecasts the threat of an isolated tornado as far up as New Jersey, though another potent storm system will move across the South and Southeast this weekend, according to a report. Tin and other debris was found in the Oakmulgee Forest many miles away from the path of the storm. Homes crumbled, trees snapped and roads are impassable in areas of Bibb County including West Blocton and Brent. Storm Spotters (SKYWARN) Brent is located in central Alabama in Bibb County. My father in law heard warning on police radio. It looked like the town had been scrambled like eggs. Killed one person in Wilsonville. There was no power and some minor damage to the motel but it felt safe after what we had been through. I was told that all the pressure in cans like hair spray and deodorant was sucked out by the pressure in the tornado. While at Clemson, Brent Venables admits 'I was hoping to play Alabama and not Kyler Murray as a defensive coach' Apr 24, 2023 Apr 24, 2023 Updated Apr 25, 2023 He worked the radar controls, scanning up and down the height of the storm and plotted its anticipated path on the radar screen. My wife stayed home in Montgomery that afternoon with a our new baby. It happened to be the area directly above Brent-Centreville. "We've Been Hit" May 27, 2012 Bill Murray, weather historian, article. Conciencia y Preparacin, Weather Safety Outreach Activities Graphical Forecasts This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Two happened on March 30, 2022. With nothing left to do at the radar site, Dale, Bob, and I headed to our cars to try to get home. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. May 27, 1973 was a red letter day in the annals of Alabama severe weather events. Picture from The BirminghamNews 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. Fire Weather Heres a look at tornado reports from Thursday from the National Weather Service. Previsin de 7 Das or redistributed. 1999 Bridge Creek, OK Tornado. Jay Reeves/AP. I dont know if he got one or not, but Dale Black deserved commendation from the weather service for his work and keeping on task that day. I was 9 years old. Updated: Mar. April 27, 2011 Massive Supercell Tornadoes Compared to 1973 Brent Tornado Videos, Arab Tribune "Scout" of "To Kill a Mocking Bird" fame remembers Brent Tornado. A steady stream of warnings went out from West Oxmoor that day based on teletypes from Centreville radar. Market data provided by Factset. According to the National Weather Service in Birmingham, the Autauga tornado was on. My family and I went around the town to help our neighbors. We wanted to see what the conditions were like. The tornado weakened slightly as it moved across County Road 57 but still damaged several homes. [8:05 PM]: An EF-1 tornado was confirmed by @NWSHuntsville meteorologists today across portions of Lawrence, Morgan, And Limestone counties. Major tornado outbreak hits the South, kills 5 in Alabama - Axios Brent was almost wiped from the face of the earth. I was 17 years old. Several vehicles were picked up and thrown, and one pickup truck had its cab separated from the bed. A mile wide WEDGE tornado touched down on March 25, 2021 during a PDS , Particularly Dangerous Situation Tornado Watch that was issued for parts of Mississippi and Alabama. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. TORNADO EMERGENCY for Bibb County Until 5:45 pm - The Alabama Weather Blog Damage in Brent. I dont know where Bob ended up as the storm struck with full force. It was an abrupt and dramatic drop in atmospheric pressure. At 60 years old now, Im still trying to comprehend what I saw that morning. So I went back to bed, and went back to sleep. My dad stood beside Hwy. We found out the next day that the freezer came from 2 miles down the road. James Remembers the Brent Tornado. It plowed through the school and pulled up an extremely old oak tree , and let it go on top of the store . 6 on the list. We were in our car for at least two hours before the rescue people could dig through the piles of debris to get to us. Little did she know that God had just spared us from total destruction. He attended the University of Alabama and was taking classes there in 1973 while working in Centreville. The tornado then moved toward Coven Abbett Road and then Elbert Road, damaging several homes and destroying several boat houses. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The wind had picked me up slightly and I felt as if I were floating down the hill. It had a track of 139.10 miles, according to weather service data. No buildings were involved, but there was enough thermal damage that families in 26 units had to be displaced, according to Hoover Fire Department Division Chief and spokesman Duane Prater: A brush fire near the City Heights apartment complex in Hoover. Recovery begins in Bibb County after tornado damage - WBRC Contact Us But all of his windows were still intact. The tornado crossed through the Pine Flat community, damaging more homes, and a manufactured home was rolled and destroyed. Fire Weather The volume of snapped trees was enough to assign an EF-3 rating for this segment of the tornados path, the weather service said. Prientice trailer Park on top of Burnt Corn Hill was destroyed. In some ways, its something I needed to see. The first was an EF-2 tornado that carved a 35.17-mile path through parts of Choctaw and Marengo counties. All-Hazards Awareness Booklet Seconds later, I felt what reminded me of fine grain sand hitting my face and arms. #HUNwx pic.twitter.com/wyBjSkmRCp. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 6 on the list. But police quickly let my granddad through. I also recall the courage, resilience, and resoluteness of the citizens of Brent, as well as their willingness to do all they could to offer help to their neighbors. NWS Cheaha. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The weather situation turned very serious, very quickly that Sunday afternoon. Two by fours through the tires and radiator. The church looked like a large chain had cut a v from front to back forminf a v in the roof. Julia Musto is a reporter for Fox News and Fox Business Digital. Up Close and Personal with the Brent Tornado - May 27, 1973 According to the NOAA representative that conducted the storm survey,wind speed may well have surpassedthe threshold of F5 strength in areas near the Brent Baptist Church. We heard on the scanner that a tornado was tracking toward our new house. Video shows damaged buildings in Bertram, Texas from a possible tornado. #alwx https://t.co/5yJdHOvAWY. In fact, there were three just last year. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. If you would like, I could transcribe the article and post it. Special Weather Statements On the 24th, an F4 developed in Oklahoma, killing 2. National Outlooks There were 43 tornadoes confirmed across 11 states, with the bulk of activity primarily on March 25, which resulted in the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issuing its second high-risk outlook for the month of March, as well as the second high-risk outlook for 2021. Change). As a victim I feel as though Ive been robbed of a part of what turned our lives upside down. Hale,Bibb, Perry, Shelby,Talladega and Clay Counties And Bob Coe was able to reach his wife at home in Brent to make sure his family took shelter. Deadly Alabama tornado 'supercell' spotted in satellite imagery US Dept of Commerce NWS Air Quality Possible tornado leaves Texas communities in rubble, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA), knocked out power for more than 2,000 people.