ONEONTA, Ala. — April 27, 2011 left a mark on much of our team at WZDX. Many in the Fox 54 family spent days after the storms cleaning up debris in their own communities in North Alabama.
April 27, 2011 Tornado Outbreak
WZDX reporter Kelly Kennedy lived in Guntersville at the time. Meteorologist Emily Owen lived in Oneonta. They sat down together to reflect on that day.
Kelly says she remembers her mother, grandmother, and great aunt cooking at her hometown church and feeding the community for nearly a week when most of Marshall County was without power.
"We got coolers and got ice for them," said Kelly. "People would bring their food out of their refrigerators that was going bad and people just ate there throughout the entire week. It was just incredible to see that."
Emily says what sticks out about the April 27 tornadoes the most to her is not being able to get in touch with her brother who was a student at the University of Alabama at the time.
"There was absolutely no cell service," said Emily "I remember that actual storm that moved through Tuscaloosa passed over Oneonta. My mom and I, we went outside to check everything to make sure we didn't have any trees down or anything, and I just remember looking at the ground and there were debris from Tuscaloosa."
Emily says the 2011 outbreak is what inspired her to become a meteorologist.
2011 Alabama Tornado Outbreak
April 27, 2011 Alabama tornados
On April 27, 2011, 39 tornadoes would move through the Tennessee Valley in three distinct rounds of severe weather. There would be 3 EF-5 tornadoes all of which occurred during the final round of severe weather that Tuesday evening.
Nearly 100 people would lose their lives in the Tennessee Valley. 35 of them lived in DeKalb County. 253 people in the entire state of Alabama would lose their lives and at least 2092 injuries would occur. These are deaths and injuries just as a direct result of the tornadoes.