The Day of the Tornadoes

It was a day of unremitting horror.

The Day of the Tornadoes

 

By Elton Camp

 

April 27, 2011 is a day we’ll long recall

When natural disaster on Alabama did fall

The weather bureau warned us days before

And nobody ignores the forecasts anymore

 

Every family decides on the best place to go

And listens carefully to the NOAA radio

The Huntsville TV stations see storm afar

With the wonderful help of Doppler radar

 

The outbreak began at three in the morning

A few hours later than the original warning

As the frightening day continued to progress

We saw that we were in for a terrible mess

 

The dire announcements came at a fast clip

As across the state many tornadoes did skip

By later afternoon, desperation had set in

The authorities hardly knew where to begin

 

The meteorologists all did seriously allow

Get into your safe place and please do it now

And because of the excellent job that they do

Deaths from tornadoes recently have been few

 

But in some cases, in order to still be around

It was essential that people go underground

Without such protection it’s hard to stay alive

When one is hit by a tornado rated F-4 or F-5

 

Shelters like that are rarely needed so are few

People had make out with what they could do

The tornadoes struck with a roar and a grind

And of houses only rubble was then left behind

 

It was something we saw over thirty years before

Once again, there were injuries and deaths galore

Then the ferocious winds had no mind to decide

Good, bad, old, strong, young�"all of them died

 

That day that from survivors’ memory won’t fade

Also how people gave to each other needed aid

The area will recover, though it seems it can’t be

Due to the devastation from nature’s killing spree