The Path
“It happened too fast to be scared.” - Steak-Out Driver Henry Nixon
Three years ago, on a spring afternoon in April, a storm unlike any seen before in the area produced a tornado that leveled sections of Tuscaloosa, killing at least 50 people, including six University of Alabama students. From the southwest to northeast corners of the city, the twister decimated businesses and homes, barely missing the University. It was just one of 758 that devastated the country in April 2011, now recorded as the largest tornado season in United States history. Residents and students hid in basements, in bathtubs and under overpasses, terrified that they, too, would be hurt by the storm.
During the span of 91 minutes, lives were changed and lost forever, while parts of the city itself lay in desolate ruins around survivors. Like the geological scar left behind by the piercing winds of the twister, the fear instilled in those who experienced the hour and a half of horror is still visible underneath the surface.
During the span of 91 minutes, lives were changed and lost forever, while parts of the city itself lay in desolate ruins around survivors. Like the geological scar left behind by the piercing winds of the twister, the fear instilled in those who experienced the hour and a half of horror is still visible underneath the surface.
Click the map markers below to follow the path of the tornado. Use + to zoom.