Today marks 10 years since the infamous 2011 severe weather that stuck the state of Alabama. On that day a decade ago, a series of long-track tornadoes tore through Alabama in three waves across 35 of the state’s 67 counties.
The unprecedented event claimed the lives of 254 Alabamians, injured more than 2,000 and devastated the state. It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks recorded in Alabama since 1932, with 348 people dying across several states. Here in DeKalb County it claimed 34 lives.
It is a tribute to our strength and resiliency that we were able to recover from such a horrific tragedy and rebuild our broken communities.
I recall that the weather was threatening all day long in wave after wave of severe thunderstorms and some of the strongest winds I’d ever seen. The trees in our yard were being tossed about like rag dolls.