The Blast Shelter

[ Reading time: 2 - 2 minutes ]

First hand report on the April 8th, 1998 F-5 tornado that hit Jefferson County, Alabama.

It Could Have been US..

By Richard A. Fleetwood – April 10th, 1998
(updated July 20, 2005)

A bad weather day

Wednesday, May 8, 1998…a normal day for me, a lowly postman.  The morning weather report says  mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of rain or thunderstorms today, with a possibility of severe storms later today.  The high will be in the ’70’s, with a slight breeze.  At 6:00am I log onto American Online and click on my homepage to check  the radar for the southeast, knowing that if I see any storms approaching Alabama from the west before leaving for work, that I WILL be getting wet before the end of the day. I grab my postal shorts, shirt, and other clothing and dress and head to work.  It is extremely muggy this morning…something I have learned to associate with bad weather when strong fronts are going to move thru.  I get to work at 7:30am and start my job by casing mail for the day’s delivery. Listening to talk radio shows in the morning, I catch the news at the tops and bottoms of the hours, and before noon, begin hearing reports of severe weather in Mississippi. Local radio stations are reporting during the traffic and weather breaks that there is a possibility of severe weather in my area this evening.