Today has been one more day.  I woke up normal and did my normal morning routine.  About 5:45, it started raining...really hard.  Then the wind started blowing....really hard.  In 10 minutes, it was over.  During this "storm", I lost cable and Internet.  I had to listen to the radio.  They told about problems, but they were way worse when I came upon them.  I travel the busiest road (US 280) in the state.  There were trees down in areas and the traffic lights were out.  In Alabama, when the traffic lights are out, the intersection becomes a four-way stop, which means a nightmare on 280.  Traffic crawled.  Then when I got past the Summit, there were several trees and power lines laying across the outbound lanes. I finally got to work at 8:45.  It took me 1 1/2 hours to get there. 

Our offices closed at 1:00, due to the expectation of bad weather.  I knew that we were due, but hoped that it was a false alarm.  When I got home, I still did not have cable or Internet, but I was able to get weather on the radio. 

BFF MAB called a little bit after 5:00 to tell me about a tornado that was passing through Tuscaloosa, which is less than an hour away.  The tornado was over a mile wide. There was a tremendous amount of damage in Tuscaloosa.  It moved through the Birmingham area, but was on the north side.  I live south of town, aka "Over the Mountain".  Even though it was north of here, it was still scary.  As soon as it left, here came two more.   Right now, there are still tornado warnings in various parts of the state.  These storms are extremely dangerous.

I tried to call my sister and mother for over two hours, but could never get them.  I then tried to call my brother-in-law and couldn't get him.  I finally got in touch with my brother-in-law and he said that they have been dodging bad weather and the power was out.  He was at the grocery store trying to find food that didn't need to be cooked.  I finally got a call from my sister. My mother, sister, sister's children, and Bo were in the bathroom waiting out the storms.

I will probably be awake for a couple of more hours.  I don't want to go to bed until the bad weather is gone for the night.

Please keep the people of Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Cullman, Alabama and Pleasant Grove, Alabama in your thoughts and prayers.  From the news reports, there were multiple fatalities (at least 25).

I hope everyone has a good Thursday.  Please stay safe during this horrible weather.