Wow! At the time the one next to us came through, I was right here on Free Republic on the Tornado Live Thread we had going. Everything at this point had been up North from mid Mississippi through Tuscaloosa-B’Ham-Huntsville. So it was about 8:30 or so. I think not too long after this the North Georgia/ Tennessee tornadoes began, or it was around the same time, so everyone affected were posting reports.
But beyond all the noise outside, I didn’t hear the “freight train”. Kind of disappoint ting because I thought that would be how I knew.
I guess that’s one on the ground, the freight train sound. The outside of my house was plastered with oak leaves afterwards, small branches too, to the point that it was morning before I even realized the noise was from the oak coming down. The buzzing could have been the funnel hitting the leaves maybe? Always wondered about that, can’t say I’ve heard anyone else describe that sort of sound. Had a sort of pitiful thing that I found during cleanup, must’ve been a flock of starlings in that oak, there were several dead ones stuck in the backyard chain link fence. Don’t know if they could have flown into it in a panic and die, or if the force of the wind did it.
I've heard the "freight train" over my roof and it's a truly awesome and fear inducing sound that I never want to hear again, unless of course it's a real freight train, properly on its tracks.