CHAPTER THREE - BRIGHT SUN SHINY DAYS

  On April 16, 1998 we were visiting my son Robbie in Vero Beach Florida who had recently moved there and my sister Donna who had been there since 1978. We got a call from home and were told that Nashville had been hit by an F-3 tornado. Unknown to us the tornado that hit Nashville was part of a two day tornado outbreak. The second day was the worst. Thirteen tornados hit Middle Tennessee that day. For the first time in twenty years Nashville was the largest downtown area to be hit by an F-2 tornado or larger. Tornado's also struck Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky and Alabama. Twelve people were killed in these states. Seven in Tennessee and one in Nashville. Eleven people died in Nashville alone during the March 1933 East Nashville tornado that followed an almost identical path. Modern weather alerting can be credited with a lower casualty rate this time and the fact that it hit during daylight hours. 

 The tornado was an F-1 when it touched down at the intersection of Charlotte and 46th Avenue. By the time it reached downtown it was turning into a F-3 tornado. Trees were blown down everywhere. A Vanderbilt ROTC student was crushed by a falling tree at Centennial Park and later died at Vanderbilt hospital. Windows were blown out of buildings and cars. Utility poles and electrical wires were down everywhere. Buildings were destroyed downtown and when the tornado hit the new Titans stadium, then under construction, three construction cranes were blown over. East Nashville suffered even more damage when the tornado crossed the river. The historic St. Ann's Episcopal church was heavily damaged along with the Tulip Street United Methodist church and the Russell Street Church of Christ. East Nashville was devastated and the tornado ripped up hundreds of stately old trees on the property of the Hermitage before finally losing steam.

 There were a lot of tornado's that year. In June our house was hit by an F-1 tornado that damaged most of the trees in my yard. Luckily our house wasn't damaged but an RV was blown over along with many trees in our neighborhood. When the tornado reached Murfreesboro Pike it became an F-3 and flattened a batting cage called Grand Slam. I remember waking up to a violent thunderstorm that night. The lightning was probably the most intense that I have ever witnessed. It reminded me of a strobe light. I immediately turned on the television in our room and the weathermen were telling people in our area to take cover. 

 After jumping out of bed I grabbed my video camera. Debbie had walked into the kitchen and was looking out the window into our back yard. This was before we built our dining room. I was filming through the glass in our bedroom door that opens into our back yard. Just then the battery died on my camera and I was looking down when the tornado hit. When I looked up the peach tree that had been standing right in front of me a moment before, was now gone. Just before the tornado hit I noticed that the storm seemed to have subsided and everything was very still. Debbie saw what looked like a heavy fog engulf our house and when it lifted trees were down all over the back yard. We would be cutting up limbs and trees for days after that.