Sherry and i did a 102 mile tornado damage ride yesterday

[RedValk]

just did a big circle around our area....looking at damage. Folks kept calling us wanting to know if we we were ok....cause we live on county 80 in Northern Elmore country. we finally decided to ride down county 80....our road...a few miles EAST of us and try to see what they were talking about.

WE WERE SHOCKED. the tornado followed the road for miles....and wipe out  houses....churches...trees. I was amazed. We've now figured out the EXACT path of this one tornado. It started about 3 miles from our house...then crosses hiway 9 near the small towns of Central and Santuck...follows county road 80 (our road)...crosses hiway 63...then goes over lake Martin...blowing away houses and areas on both sides of the lake. It was truly sad to ride around and see....smell (the fresh pine trees snapped off)....the disaster on the bikes. Power lines were STILL down (this is 4 days later....after the storm) on the road. We carefully road over them on the bikes.

Tuesday, we're going to take the car along the same route and try to take some pictures. It was too risky to do it on the bikes. Lots of debris everywhere...and lots of cars were driving the area to look at the damage. Power trucks everywhere, etc.  If we get some pictures Tuesday....if i can find a place to store them (that i can get to thru the firewall here)...i'll post them.

I just can't get over how much damage there is EVERYWHERE! And seeing those things...like one church is TOTALLY gone...nothing left but foundation....and those trees snapped off....I'll see that for years....

It was just an amazing ride........but sad.........

[JerryB]

Went through Palm Sunday tornado in 1965.......They sure leave a mess.It took years to get somewhat back to livable conditions up here...JerryB.

[laserpat]

Glad you and Sherry are ok. Sorry your neighbors have it so bad.

[RedValk]

this is the report from the Weather Service for the tornado near us (Mount Hebron Road is the other end of county road 80....our road):

LAKE MARTIN TORNADO (ELMORE/TALLAPOOSA/CHAMBERS COUNTIES)
PRELIMINARY DATA...
EVENT DATE: APRIL 27, 2011
EVENT TYPE: POTENTIALLY GREATER THAN EF-3 (FURTHER EVALUATION UNDERWAY)
ESTIMATED PEAK WINDS (MPH):
POTENTIALLY UP TO 170 INJURIES/FATALITIES: SEVERAL INJURIES/9 FATALITIES
EVENT START LOCATION AND TIME: 32.6174/-86.193 AT 812 PM
EVENT END LOCATION AND TIME: 32.9196/-85.523 AT 909 AM
DAMAGE PATH LENGTH (IN MILES): 44.1 MILES
 DAMAGE WIDTH: 1/2 MILE

NOTE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS SURVEYED DAMAGE FROM CENTRAL ELMORE COUNTY...EXTENDING EASTWARD ACROSS CENTRAL TALLAPOOSA COUNTY AND THE LAKE MARTIN AREA...TO WESTERN CHAMBERS COUNTY. IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT THE DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH A VIOLENT TORNADO. WINDS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE POTENTIALLY UP 170 MPH. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ALONG COUNTY ROAD 209 NEAR MEADOWVIEW DRIVE WHERE A FEW SNAPPED TREES WERE NOTED. FROM THERE...THE TORNADO QUICKLY INTENSIFIED AS IT MOVED NORTHEAST THROUGH DEXTER WIDENING AND PRODUCING EF-2 DAMAGE TO SEVERAL HOMES. FROM THERE...IT CONTINUED ACROSS HIGHWAY 9 DAMAGING SEVERAL HOMES...THEN INTENSIFIED TO EF-3 STRENGTH AS IT MOVED THROUGH A MOBILE HOME PARK AT THE INTERSECTION OF MIDDLE ROAD AND AUCTION BARN ROAD COMPLETELY DESTROYING 10 MOBILE HOMES AND KILLING 4 PEOPLE. THE TORNADO CONTINUED EAST TO THE MOUNT HEBRON ROAD AREA...DESTROYING SEVERAL HOMES...BUSINESSES...2 CHURCHES...AND AN AGRICULTURAL NURSERY. THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED LAKE MARTIN...JUST SOUTH OF THE HIGHWAY 63 BRIDGE...DOING SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO NUMEROUS HOMES AROUND THE WYNDERMERE AREA. AT THIS POINT...THE TORNADO WAS NEAR 1/4 MILE WIDE. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED INTO TALLAPOOSA COUNTY JUST SOUTH OF COUNTY ROAD 34...WIDENING TO NEAR 1/2 MILE AND STRENGTHENING TO POTENTIALLY GREATER THAN EF-3 INTENSITY. HERE THE DAMAGE WAS THE MOST WIDESPREAD AND SEVERE WITH SEVERAL WELL BUILT MULTI-STORY HOMES TOTALLY DESTROYED WITH NO WALLS REMAINING ON FLOORS ABOVE BASEMENT LEVEL. THE TORNADO CONTINUED AT THIS STRENGTH BUT BECAME MORE NARROW TO NEAR 400 YARDS WIDE AS IT CROSSED HIGHWAY 49 JUST NORTH OF JONES ROAD WHERE IT DESTROYED 2 HOMES AND ROLLED A PICK-UP TRUCK 120 YARDS. THE TORNADO CONTINUED NORTHEAST CROSSING U.S. HIGHWAY 280 JUST EAST OF DADEVILLE PRODUCING SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO SEVERAL HOMES AND BUSINESSES. FROM HERE THE TORNADO CROSSED INTO WESTERN CHAMBERS COUNTY PASSING JUST TO THE NORTH OF SIKES. ALONG COUNTY ROAD 54 NORTH OF SIKES...1 HOME WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED. THE TORNADO WEAKENED AS IT MOVED NORTHEAST ACROSS COUNTY ROAD 66 AND ENDED JUST NORTH OF COUNTY ROAD 51.