Central Alabama Under Tornado Warning

Jefferson County is what the news says is under a Tornado Warning at the moment. The rain came down at the same time as the lightening got more frequent.

It sounds like a freight train driven by an angry conductor.
It's loud. Really loud.

Update
It has gotten eerily quiet. No more rain or wind...
But there is a rumbling noise far away.

I don't get it. Wikipedia says you shouldn't be a stranger to tornados. Post in CE when you get 2 feet of snow.

I don't have to be a stranger to something to be scared of it, but I will grant you this. Tornados rarely come into the city limits. This night is weird.

Power and internet throughout the suburbs just flickered off and came back on. Precipitation up to normal levels. Less lightning.

The Today Show shows a big sun and 47 degrees Fahrenheit over Birmingham. Fucking liars.
Massive rumbling in the distance. Definately not thunder. 5 minutes ago several transformers were struck by lightning down in Bessemer.

Supercell / mesoscale forming near Tuscaloosa. Oh shit that's near Iggy!.

61mph winds recorded near where Aleda lives. That's a Beaufort number of 10. It can result in uprooted trees and considerable structural damage.

Main cell of the bow echo crossing the border into Georgia, near Carollton.

Sun is breaking through the clouds here in Homewood, but there are no birds chirping.

It's expected the tornado will cause over $2 billion worth of improvements

Just speaking from experiance, if the local sirens don't go off, head for cover when your ears start popping. A sudden change in air pressure is a sign that shit is soon to follow.

Just for future reference, that is.

The sirens blared between 2:30am and 3:30am.
The sun just started to peek through the clouds.
1 person has been found dead so far.

Macon, GA sgmembers and Augusta, GA sgmembers - have your eyes on the sky.

Don't know how prepared folks down your way are for tornados, but I hope everyone keeps a basic tornado kit nearby:

Water
Blankets
Flashlight
Food (energy bars are a good choice)
Portable Radio
Any Prescription meds

And if you hear sirens, trains without nearby railroad tracks, or feel your ears popping, head for the nearest basement. If there is no basement, go to an inside room, away from windows, and stay near a load-bearing wall. Closets work well, too. Do not open your windows. Do not grab your camera and head outside. Do bring your pets inside (dogs/cats/turtles) but leave any large 4-legged animals alone. They know how to take care of themselves. (no idea if there are any farm-SG-members). Do not take candles to the basement/shelter with you, in case there is a gas-line break. Keep the radio on as long as possible, and keep spare batteries for it and the flashlight. Wait for the official "All-Clear" and be very careful of broken glass when you come out.

Just a few tips I've learned over 30 years in Tornado Alley.

The drag-belt of rainclouds has settled over Central Alabama. We expect rain any moment now.

This thread should be renamed "Weather Watch" and stickied in the CE forum.

There were some rain clouds over my house at 9am, but it hasn't rained... yet.

Yes. Very important because when really bad weather hits I'm sitting at my computer afternot losing power or sustaining any damage.

Georgia got hit with some wicked bad storms too.

yes, but the rain in LA, though toxic to non-residents, doesn't usually kill people and destroy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property in a few seconds.

also, a lot of the time, people will have power, internet, tv, and all that fun stuff up until the storm or tornado hits their area directly, and with the wonderful advances in technology such as laptops (which is what i'm using right now), wireless internet connections (which i have set up here, though i'm still hard plugged in for better speed), immensely powerful and durable surge protectors, and battery back-ups, a big storm heading towards you does not mean off goes the computer and unplugged goes the internet. i'm quite certain that getting weather info online is a very good source of information relevant to one's current situation in such instances.

also, people don't always have the TV or weather radio on while they're online. if they happen to be browsing the SG boards, this might be the only clue they get before sirens and sudden big mclargehuge weather dropping on them. and it can just show up out of nowhere, let me tell you. i grew up in Iowa, in wonderful Tornado Ally, and have experienced it, personally. no tornado destruction, but huge fuckoff storms and power outages.

i'm also certain more than a few Kara runs [strike]didn't get called[/strike] wouldn't have gotten called*, despite the weather danger. if guys won't quit instances to go take shelter when getting shelled by artillery,** a puny massive thunderstorm and tornado won't stop people, either.

*: forgot it was Tuesday. weekly maintenance had everything down already.

**: i have personally talked with people who have both done and witnessed this phenomenon along the western border of Iraq, and i trust them enough to believe them.

damnit, how do you get stuff with the strike-through format? stupid fucking differences in UBB formating...

Uh.. yeah, actually, it does. Rain here means flash floods and sinkholes and mudslides and horrible car accidents on flooded freeways.

But I agree, tornados are way more interesting to read about. (not snarking)

Actually the storms in GA knocked out large parts of the city of Atlanta. We got hit by a bus it seems.

yes, but that still doesn't explain how people are getting their text in the strike-through format. we need to focus on what's important, here, people.