Thirty years ago today, on February 23, 1975, I was on duty that Sunday afternoon working the noon to 6:00 shift at WTBC radio, the BIG 1230, in Tuscaloosa. Being a rock and roll disc jockey was a cool job for an 18 year old college student. And, I was absolutely fascinated by weather and was aware that big storms were expected that day.
Shortly after 1:00, we received a tornado warning on our Civil Defense radio system in the studio. The warning was for Tuscaloosa county for a thunderstorm that was southwest of town, down Alabama Highway 69 near Taylorville. I immediately cut into the song I was playing at the time (I can’t remember which one), and put the tornado warning on the air with as much information as I could gather from the CD radio message. I do recall the next song I played after putting the tornado warning on the air: “Lightning Strikes” by Lou Christie. About halfway through the song, the power went out at our 15th Street studio, and with no generator we had no way of getting back on the air. I walked outside and saw a black, churning cloud to the east with a classic roaring sound, and I knew Tuscaloosa was indeed having a real tornado emergency.
The tornado would be rated an F4; the path from Taylorville into the southern part of the city, crossing Skyland Blvd, I-59/20, and McFarland Blvd, and then moving into the eastern part of town around Alberta City, and finally lifting just northeast of Holt. One employee of the old Scottish Inn, Thelma Hill, was killed as she worked on the second level of the complex at I-20/29 and McFarland. A total of 289 homes and 20 businesses were heavily damaged or destroyed. The twister missed WTBC by only about one mile, and it was the closest brush with a strong/violent tornado I have ever experienced.
**Here is an interesting sidebar to this story from Don Hartley with the Tuscaloosa EMA office:
I just did some research on the correct tornado and discovered an interesting sidebar about the 1975 twister. It was that tornado that prompted the City of Tuscaloosa to embark on an extensive Outdoor Warning Siren System. Civil Defense began applying for grant money to enlarge the system which now in the near future will consist of 50 sirens. According to records, there were only 3 Cold War era sirens in all of Tuscaloosa County in 1975.
I was driving eastbound on University Blvd. and saw the tornado as it moved across the area. By the way, I did have the car radio on WTBC at the time.
Shortly after 1:00, we received a tornado warning on our Civil Defense radio system in the studio. The warning was for Tuscaloosa county for a thunderstorm that was southwest of town, down Alabama Highway 69 near Taylorville. I immediately cut into the song I was playing at the time (I can’t remember which one), and put the tornado warning on the air with as much information as I could gather from the CD radio message. I do recall the next song I played after putting the tornado warning on the air: “Lightning Strikes” by Lou Christie. About halfway through the song, the power went out at our 15th Street studio, and with no generator we had no way of getting back on the air. I walked outside and saw a black, churning cloud to the east with a classic roaring sound, and I knew Tuscaloosa was indeed having a real tornado emergency.
The tornado would be rated an F4; the path from Taylorville into the southern part of the city, crossing Skyland Blvd, I-59/20, and McFarland Blvd, and then moving into the eastern part of town around Alberta City, and finally lifting just northeast of Holt. One employee of the old Scottish Inn, Thelma Hill, was killed as she worked on the second level of the complex at I-20/29 and McFarland. A total of 289 homes and 20 businesses were heavily damaged or destroyed. The twister missed WTBC by only about one mile, and it was the closest brush with a strong/violent tornado I have ever experienced.
**Here is an interesting sidebar to this story from Don Hartley with the Tuscaloosa EMA office:
I just did some research on the correct tornado and discovered an interesting sidebar about the 1975 twister. It was that tornado that prompted the City of Tuscaloosa to embark on an extensive Outdoor Warning Siren System. Civil Defense began applying for grant money to enlarge the system which now in the near future will consist of 50 sirens. According to records, there were only 3 Cold War era sirens in all of Tuscaloosa County in 1975.
I was driving eastbound on University Blvd. and saw the tornado as it moved across the area. By the way, I did have the car radio on WTBC at the time.
on February 23, 2005, 3:22 pm
None of us were severly hurt. The tornado ripped the roof off of the house, except for one room. My GrandFather was a Pastor, and his study, where he kept all of his Bibles, research material, and notes, was completely untouched.
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