I just missed getting caught up in #97 and #99 that night. A friend and I went riding around and left Tullahoma to head up the mountain to Sewanee, ten over to Monteagle, then back down on the interstate to wind back up in Tullahoma.
#97 crossed the highway just a few minutes after we’d passed that point. I was admiring the “light show” as we rode along, not knowing there was even a tornado warning. It was raining and a bit windy but wasn’t too bad .... then.
#99 crossed the interstate while we were still on the mountain. We saw a couple of tractor-trailers lying on their sides and I commented that there must have been a heck of a storm.
My parents were in a panic while we were gone, having seen on TV what was going on that night. They knew we had no clue and had probably been caught up in a tornado and crunched up in the car.
I drove the same route the next day and what a mess! A house we’d driven past the night before was scrubbed clean down to the foundation.
Seven people in this county died that night.
I was in high school but still remember that day, though I lived in Maryland. I remember looking out my west facing window to see if we were going to be hit as well.