Today is the 15th anniversary of the start of the 2011 Super Outbreak...

Spanning three days across 21 states, it was the largest and costliest tornado outbreak ever recorded. From April 25-28, 2011, some 368 tornadoes would touchdown, leading to the deaths of 348 people and over $10 billion in damages. April 27 would be the most infamous day of the outbreak as an estimated 224 tornadoes touchdown over a 24-hour period (a record), killing 316 people.

I was in downtown Tuscaloosa on the 27th and watched from the safety of a parking deck as that infamous EF-4 tornado tore through the southern part of the city. I remember being in awe of the vortices spinning off of the funnel (they looked like tentacles) and have vivid memories of thousands of pieces of debris spinning around it. At the time I wasn't thinking about the human cost. In the excitement of the moment, you don't really think about the people who are dying or being terribly maimed. That being said, I'll never forget helping clean up in the days following the storm. The devastation was heartbreaking.