Thank you so much for this extremely vivid picture of that terrible day. I arrived in Alabama after Katrina, which caused vast destruction on my part of the Gulf Coast, including by ripping up quarter-mile long concrete pier, and people who survived it say it was the worst thing they've been through here.

But the day you describe sounds much worse (and I believe Katrina's death toll in the state was lower). We have so many tornado warnings in my area that it's easy to develop a cavalier attitude toward them. Your story was a much-needed reminder of the importance of taking them seriously.