It's been about a year and half since I've covered a tornado. That streak ended this weekend when an E-F 3 ripped through Garrard, Estill and Madison counties.
I was out of town when it hit. The weather was bad across the state Friday. I was visiting Greg and it rained hard all day. They had some flash flooding, but I didn't think it was bad enough for a tornado and was shocked when I turned on the 10 o'clock news to hear at least one person was dead in Madison county from a tornado. It's the county directly east of Lexington. Immediately I got a call from assignment editor to tell me to be in at 7 a.m. to go with the National Weather Service to survey the damage.
That was the start of the day, but the day ended talking to the family of the second victim. There were six people in a trailer that was blown into a pond. A mother and her four year old son were pulled out by and EMT and Paramedic who happened to stop right in the middle of the tornado. A one year old boy was also taken to the hospital. One person got out okay and two others died. We were just down the street from the body when the pulled the last body out.
I've covered countless tornadoes in the few year I've been a reporter. It's not always someone dies. No matter how bad the damage, it always hits you right in the pit of your stomach to see the houses and the destruction. This weekend was no different.
See what the tornado did to this home.
I'm only working four days this week, but I will do a recovery story everyday. Tomorrow I have to be in around 8 a.m. to be there when the Governor surveys the damage.
The only perk to the draining week...I got to do a live Q and A with the Weather Channel this afternoon. It was just an average hit when you compare it to most things you see on the Weather Channel, but it was sure cool. I think that's the first time I've ever done anything live for a station other than my own. It wasn't perfect and we were standing infront of a building rather than in the middle of the damage, but it's still pretty cool.
Watch it Here.
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