"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
06/01/2018 at 10:10 • Filed to: None
4
7|
"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
06/01/2018 at 10:10 • Filed to: None | 4
| 7 |
4/27/11 is a date the people of Tuscaloosa, AL will never forget. The picture you see is one I just took. Below is why.
Among other things, I am a self confessed weather dork and amateur storm chaser. If I go somewhere that had a major weather event, I try to remember to get a picture. This spot is where Jason Rosolowski filmed part of the infamous Tuscaloosa Tornado.
It’s kinda weird sitting here right now, looking around and thinking about what could have been possibly going through his mind as he sat in his vehicle watching this monster.
nermal
> Matt Nichelson
06/01/2018 at 10:13 |
|
...thinking about what could have been possibly going through his mind as he sat in his vehicle watching this monster.
A cow?
E90M3
> Matt Nichelson
06/01/2018 at 10:15 |
|
A couple of my high school friends were at the University of Alabama when that hit, they were less than a mile away from that.
He took some pictures of the aftermath.
Ash78, voting early and often
> Matt Nichelson
06/01/2018 at 10:24 |
|
Wow, 7 years ago? Seems like 2 or 3 years ago...
The most unique part of that twister was that it went on for hours and hundreds of miles — most last 10 minutes or less and leave an isolated swath.
It just happened to pick a path across the flat part of the state and into the valleys, whereas many of them are dissipated (in part) by the topographical updrafts. That’s a lot of the reason tornadoes do so well in flatter areas.
I saw it pass about 10 miles north of my house in Birmingham. 20-30 minutes later, I had debris falling in my yard — small pieces of wood and some foam insulation.
Totally surreal, but at least it was midafternoon with plenty of warning. When these happen at 2am, the results are far, far worse.
Still better than earthquakes, wildfires, or volcanoes IMHO...
|
Matt Nichelson
> E90M3
06/01/2018 at 10:25 |
|
Wow. I assume they were ok?
|
E90M3
> Matt Nichelson
06/01/2018 at 10:33 |
|
Yeah, they were fine, had to get into the hallway of their house.
|
Matt Nichelson
> Ash78, voting early and often
06/01/2018 at 10:33 |
|
I know. Really doesn’t seem like it has been that long.
The main tornado actually only travelled a little less than 81. The storm started in Mississippi and went all the way through Alabama though iirc. It’s still very rare to have a path length that long. What’s even more amazing is how it pales in comparison to the Tri-State Tornado. Depending on who you believe, the path was anywhere from 151 to 235 miles.
|
Ash78, voting early and often
> Matt Nichelson
06/01/2018 at 10:41 |
|
Yeah, I might have confused this one with the MS/AL/GA tornado a couple years later — IIRC it was mostly forestland, but there were a couple of freak casualties like a family driving down the highway in Northeast AL who barely saw it coming.