Let me start by saying that me and family are safe and for that I am very thankful.

Yesterday was a long rough day. Started at 3am with tornado sirens that lasted till 7pm. I have read there were 75 tornados in Alabama alone and over 100 total within this specific storm system. Almost all of northern Alabama is without power and they dont expect it to be restored for 7-10 days. Our power has been intermittent and as of right now we do have power.

Over 300 confirmed deaths making this the most deadly storm since 1947 or something like that. We have no gas at the stations and most stations have no power. There is a curfew from 8pm to 5am and they are enforcing it strictly. I-65 is closed from birmingham to huntsville.

At one point we had 5 tornados on the ground within 30 miles of us with one being 12 miles away. Justin and his family are OK and they were 2 miles from one of the tornados and actually have mail in their yard from someone in Mississippi which is 50-60 miles away.

Here are some videos/images

http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/th_2011-04-27_15-58-11_507.jpg (http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/?action=view&current=2011-04-27_15-58-11_507.mp4)


http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/th_2011-04-27_10-52-13_789.jpg (http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/?action=view&current=2011-04-27_10-52-13_789.mp4)


http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/why-alabama-tornado-april-2011_35155_600x450.jpg


These 2 pics were taken today 5 miles from my house
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/2011-04-28_14-00-24_787.jpg
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/2011-04-28_13-59-42_706.jpg


The tornado 12 miles from me and 2 miles from Justin
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/216396_10150172081416359_96789666358_7034093_69106 14_n.jpg


These are pics from my house.
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/230985_1926629359161_1044981903_32308036_1972394_n .jpg
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/224732_1926628999152_1044981903_32308035_6814283_n .jpg
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/221655_1926628559141_1044981903_32308032_1864101_n .jpg
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/217114_1926628759146_1044981903_32308033_7330306_n .jpg



One of my wifes employee's house. Yes there is a house under that tree.
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/219581_10150303265223849_672478848_9596651_8286512 _o.jpg
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/218584_10150303264133849_672478848_9596640_7077512 _o.jpg
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/201971_10150303264023849_672478848_9596637_4197401 _o.jpg



Our county is in the top left-hand corner circled in purple.
http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab175/PW-Racing/tornadoes2-1-1.jpg

A nuclear power plant shut down automatically as the worst outbreak of tornados to hit America for many years downed power lines in three southern states.



Regional utility the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) reported blackouts in much of northern Mississippi as well as parts of northern Alabama and southeastern Tennessee as a result of the tornados and high winds. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Alabama to allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts. Almost 300 people are reported to have been killed by the storms.



TVA said it had never experienced anything like the passage of several storm systems through its 80,000 square mile service area. Each one caused more damage to transmission lines until over 100 transmission elements were knocked out and some 677,000 homes left without power.



The three boiling water reactors at TVA's Browns Ferry nuclear power plant in Alabama shut down automatically with cooling systems powered by "a combination of offsite transmission and on-site diesel generators." However, the shutdown was notified as an 'unusual event' to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission "when the normal and alternate power supplies for essential equipment were unavailable for more than 15 minutes." TVA stressed that "safety systems performed well."



The plant shut down on 27 April at 4.36 pm and units 2 and 3 achieved cold shutdown at 2.43 am and 5.45 am on 28 April respectively. TVA said that unit 1 was was being cooled and the priority now was to get that reactor into cold shutdown as well.



I feel very fortunate that all of my family is safe and many prayers go out for the families of the 300+ people who lost their lives.

During this time, we will not be able to do much in the form of order fulfillment and shipping. We hope to be back up and running ASAP and we apologize for the inconvenience.

That's a terrible tragedy! Glad you guys are ok Andy.

wink

wow glad your safe

Glad you and your family are alright Andy, must be scary stuff!!

Some notes from yesterday

Weatherman: "this is the meanest radar i have ever seen, tornado signatures everywhere"

"Combo of instability, low-level shear is off the chart & at levels rarely seen."

Andy, I am from Saint Louis, MO and so I am very familiar with Tornados and their destructive nature. In fact this past weekend I went home for Easter and barely missed the Tornado that was responsible for destroying the STL airport. I had to switch airlines in order to fly out on Sunday.

My prayers go out to all those affected and there families. Please stay safe and watch after your loved ones. Thank god you and your family are safe.

John

WOW! This is crazy!

Seems Mother Nature gets worse and worse every year with devastating earthquakes, tornadoes, and tsunamis (worldwide).....CRAZY!

Glad you and family are OK!

Geesh man. I got a horrible text from Wade last night that scared the Bejesus outta me. Mother Nature can be a true whore sometimes!! Glad to hear y'all are safe Andy.

Glad you are okay Andy. Watched some of the videos. A definite tragedy there.

Like others have posted, I'm relieved to hear that you and your family are safe. It's troubling to see all the photos and videos of the widespread destruction scattered throughout the news. I'd have to say that tornadoes are the most horrible tragedies due to their unpredictability.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families affected by these events.
.

Wow. Glad to hear you and your family are ok.

A natural born tragedy with horrific results. It's so disheartening to see all the damages and lives lost in a matter of seconds. I sent money to the Red Cross and designated it specifically for those in the devastated areas. It always makes me wonder why people fear our west coast quakes when tornadoes seem far more frightening and damaging.

Glad you're okay!

Andy, glad to see you and your family are safe. That storm hit very hard. My prayers go out to the families that were affected.
I actually have a old friend who is going to school in Alabama, Tuscaloose to be exact, and he is a close friend my close friend. He has not heard from him and the Facebook comments on his page do not look promising.
Very difficult time it is for many people, these storms are just awful and have nothing positive about them.