Tennessee Valley 3 months after tornado outbreak | Community Spirit

First off let me officially introduce myself to everyone that reads this blog. My name is Tommy Self, and I am a professional storm chaser from Madison. I am the owner and lead chaser/forecaster for the Tennessee Valley Storm Trackers. Some of you may have heard of us from Waff 48 Storm Team or by following us on Facebook.  

Now that the introductions are out of the way, let's look back at the past 3 months. April 27th will be a day I will never forget. I have been storm chasing for 13 years and have seen some devastating storms during that span, but nothing like what transpired that day. I intercepted 4 different tornadoes that day and was shocked and saddened by what I saw.

But in the last 3 months I have seen the determination and pride of the people North Alabama. Even though North Alabama did not receive a large amount of national media coverage and support from those people as well, we had the support of one another.

Destroyed homes are gone and new homes are being built. I saw people who did not have anything help and give all they had. North Alabama banded together with the help of the Waff 48 volunteer-a-thon. Even if you did not volunteer through this you can still help. If you are driving through an area and see someone moving debris, offer them a hand. We will make it through this devastating day and IF it does happen again in our lifetime, we know we can overcome.

If you are a weather enthusiast, please, come by UAH at the Shelby Center on September 17th from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. for the 2nd Annual Rocket City Weather Fest (http://www.rocketcityweatherfest.com/).  We will have our chase units there as well as a booth set up inside, so come by and chat with us and tell us your story.

A special thanks to Brad, Jeff, and Brian for all the hard work they do in keeping the Valley safe. Feel free to follow us on Facebook at Tennessee Valley Storm Trackers or on Twitter.