What some people don't know is that the other meteorologist, Jason Simpson was on air that day for almost 14 hours. He was on the air during the morning storms, when members of his family were hit by a tornado. His performance that day secured him along with James, a place in history and was the main reason he was able to become the chief meteorologist of a television station in Huntsville, Alabama.
And these guys deserve recognition for their performances during that day even there were too many storms to cover all at once. And I know behind the scenes they were deeply in bunch emotions with their families in the path of the storms. They were brave enough to keep focused on the coverage and warn everyone about the approaching tornadoes. Even Jason Simpson himself broke down in tears and told his colleague Gary that this was gonna be that day where a major violent tornado outbreak was gonna cause lots of mass casualties and sure enough that's when it lit a fuse to a bomb across Alabama with so much wind shear, unstable air mass and convection taking place after that midday on April 27 after the sun had popped out. The morning storms were just a prime example of how really bad it was gonna get and then came the afternoon and evening supercell thunderstorms over spreading and producing violent tornadoes across Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, and from Texas to New York. April 27, 2011 went down in history as one the worst high risk days and historical tornado outbreak!
This dude is unbelievable at his job. Holy shit. This might be the best I’ve ever seen someone do something in any field, ever. He has a photographic memory. Nonstop information of previous dates/events that, exact knowledge of all roads in his state and the buildings there, just unreal. Props to this guy for doing such an incredible job. Saved a lot of people’s lives.
A lot of that knowledge of the roads and landmarks was self-taught. He actually uses a lot of those back roads to get to some of the school talks he does.
Thats why i wanna be a meteorologist when i grow up. I was in this tornado and i was watching him on my phone and i was like "Mom, when i get older i want to save peoples lives" and my mom was scared ofc but she said "so you want to be in the 911 situation?" And i responded saying i want to me a meteorologist. We were still in out closet at the time. This was the worst tornado but he is the reason why i wanna be a meteorologist
He is a state institution and can tell you the most obscure landmark in the tiniest towns. I can't hardly navigate my way to Wal Mart. He also has a system of severity. If the jacket is off, you need to pay attention. Especially if the sleeves are rolled up.
Great work, youre a legend. Also he said "that hospital is churning towards the airport" during the Birmingham tornado lmao. Gotta give him a pass he had a hell of a day
I sat in front of my computer at home in Durham, NC watching this stream while the Tuscaloosa tornado came through and I was in awe. Not just because of James Spann's incredible performance, but because the ABC 33/40 stream never glitched, never hiccuped, never buffered or stopped through the worst of it. BTW, the thing that blows my mind about Spann isn't just his calm manner or his great voice or his skill as a meteorologist, it's how much of an encyclopedic knowledge of geography he has in his coverage area. He knows every highway, every church, every landmark and can instantly identify them to give people accurate information on where the danger is. Astonishing.
That knowledge has undoubtedly saved lives. There are a ton of people who hear “northeast corner” or “eastern portion..” and they’re just not sure if it applies to them. But James throws out landmarks and street intersections and people KNOW where he means.
I didn't really want to spend my night watching 8 hours of a live news broadcast from 2011, but here we are. That dude is an absolute legend, so many lives saved because of this broadcast.
Be glad you didn't see it then. I had PTSD for months! Granted, as a scientist I have climate anxiety, but back then it wasn't nearly as bad. This event allowed me to fully picture what's ahead. And so I also joined the Red Cross, BTW. I figured they could use my skills, and they did. And still do.
@@atrmediaofficial Christ was a man of action - he would act against the fossil fuel industry and the banks and governments that support it. But you do you.
He was named Broadcaster of the Year by the National Weather Association, and he received the Award for Broadcast Meteorology from the American Meteorological Society
he was interviewed by the national news to be their meteorologist too after all this. This day definitely got him alot of attention. It was well deserved. A true professional.
Watching it again even though I lived it. I was one of the folks who had no power from the morning round. I had to rely on messages from my mom to let me know what was happening. I watched James’ coverage after it was uploaded to RUclips and now have seen it several times. I’ll never forget that day. No Alabamian ever will. ❤
So basically, James Spann taking off his jacket is the central Alabama equivalent of Jim Cantore showing up in a beach town--you know shit's about to get real?
He definitely did - no doubt about it. I listened to a podcast with him a while back, and he seems to take the loss of life there in this personally as he feels he could of done "better" - which breaks my heart, as he literally couldn't of done more I think. I don't live in Alabama, but this guy is so passionate about his work that I've heard of him all the way here. He was quoted as saying he's going to spend the rest of his career working to improve systems to get people warned and in safe locations. That's a hell of a man right there.
@@GravyHucker I wonder how he could feel responsible for some of the deaths, I honestly don't know what more he could've done. The man stayed on air for 18 hours. I wonder what he wishes he could've done better/different, I honestly can't think of one thing.
@@astridvvv9662 a wise man once said "Those who do the most for their fellow man often feel the most insignificant - it's what drives them to greatness." James could NOT of done anything more than he did, he just strives to be the best guy he can be.
2:35:35: This is the last thing we heard before our power went out in Tuscaloosa. Five years later, watching this again, I'm reminded of how thankful I am for James Spann. We had time to call my father and tell him a tornado was coming - several minutes before his home (Arcadia, Alberta City area of town) was very nearly destroyed. Thankful he survived, still think often and pray for those who did not. I hope this never, ever, ever happens in my lifetime again.
+Brett Alt ah Parkersburg. That's the one you can't find much video of besides the people at the car wash after graduation, and they took shelter in a restaurants cooler. The Joplin one has a lot of up close, inside the tornado type video like that. Parkersburg doesn't even have any weather news coverage online. I'd have liked to have seen it.
+ILovestorms I agree with you. I am only referring to the home videos of being inside the thing, so to speak. The gas station one where they're all in the cooler is a pretty popular video. I've yet to see any videos here on YT of the Tuscaloosa/Birmingham tornado SUPER up close. I hope I'm making sense.
The Hackleburgh/Phil Campbell tornado was the REAL monster. Stayed on the ground for 132 miles and stayed at EF5 for most of that path. Luckily that thing missed the Huntsville/Decatur area. Traveling at as much as 75 MPH, can you imagine the devastation and death toll it would have wreaked? That thing had a legendary engine on her.
What I've learned over my 36 years is if your local weather man interrupts regularly scheduled programming on TV without their suit jackets on...shit is going down.
thomas allen yes sleeves up is a red flag if my grandma saw his sleeves up she made us get in our safe place she didn't care if the storm was in Tuscaloosa we live in Birmingham
James Spann is my hero. I don’t live in Tuscaloosa, I live in California, but the fact that he saved so many lives that day makes me look up to him. I aspire to be just like him when I become a meteorologist.
I live in Birmingham and have all my life. I don't believe I'm stretching the truth when I say that James Spann is the most trusted man in Alabama. And on top of that, he's an amazingly good person as well
I wanna be a meteorologist, and watching these videos is preparing me for what exactly i need to learn (well, not exactly, but basic premise) Number one thing is the counties and cities. Second is the velocity
Failynn black James Spann is all around amazing. Not just for what you see here. After the storm, he was out there. He speaks to children, and helps them feel safer during bad weather. He understands.
That was going on with all the big tornadoes in the outbreak. Amazing how similar they all looked. They all even had that crazy amount of lightning just ahead of their path.
Who knew a man in a dress shirt, tie, and suspenders would be the coolest dude in the world. And such a hero. He is by far the best weatherman I have seen.
It is the worst thing to experience. To lose someone close to you. I lost a few of my friends in Greensburg at the time the ef5 tornado struck back in 2007. I had to start my life over again
Yes I agree! What's sad is even with how amazing this coverage is James still beats himself up alot over not doing good enough etc... That's how you can tell he really cares and has alot of passion for what he does.
But that's just it: no matter how much we study tornadoes, there are always some every year that baffle the accumulated data, indicators, etc. Every time we think we know what the conditions are supposed to be like, suddenly an outbreak in conditions that don't make sense. Every time we think wind shear is necessary, a tornado appears where there wasn't any. Tornadoes are one disaster where, no matter how much information we collect, it does virtually nothing to prepare for the future ones.
@@peachxtaehyung That's why it pisses me off so bad when you get doorstops on platforms like Twitter talking down about "TV weathermen" and how useless they are just for getting a prediction wrong and they'll argue till they're blue in the face that meteorologists DON'T save lives. It's the embodiment of "Tell me you've never been through a dangerous weather event without _telling me_ you've never been through a dangerous weather event." 🙄🤦♀️
@Lauren Box Wow I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Our county in Virginia luckily has only had a few close calls. Hope you all have recovered since then, but yeah the people who work in weather from the UN's World Meteorological Organization, to the US's National Weather Service, to the local TV reports are truly heros. Without them there would be more property damage and lives lost would happen without their work. ♥️
@@TILR The WMO? You're kidding, right? This faux oligarchy promulgates political mandates from their ivory tower. They aren't heroes in local American weather. The true heroes are the volunteer storm spotters and chasers who sit in front of storms calling in storm reports. And, the local National Weather Service County Warning Area managers who consolidate these reports into formative actions in their local areas. And, the local Emergency Management Area managers who act on these spotter reports and NWS warnings. There are also many police officers and volunteer firemen who risk their lives to identify storms on the ground - in real time - as well. Then these same people, the storm spotters, the volunteer firemen in rural areas, and the police officers go into the areas hit by the storms and perform search & rescue functions. These are truly the heroes. Not some international oligarchy such as the WMO. Stick to Minecraft son. Let the American adults handle the American storm season.
@@2200Z you do know that the National Weather Service works with the WMO right? I never said storms spotters aren't heros as well. And as an American adult following the guidelines of our CDC and my state I will stay at home and play some Minecraft.
I remember this day vividly. I was a college kid, on 15th street when the tornado passed over. The destruction was so violent.....so complete...that I was literally disoriented when we emerged. You had no landmarks to get your bearings with. No familiarity. It was like being transported to a foreign land. I will never forget the disorientation, the cool breeze, and the smell of sulfur. Truly a horrific day.
John D I too remember it very much like yourself. I was on the corner of McFarland and 15th. After walking out to literally NOTHING that I recognized, the next most terrifying thing was not being able to access any form of news and thinking another one could possibly be heading toward us again. All I could think of was that there was literally NOWHERE safe to go bc everywhere around me was leveled. 😢😢😢😢
John D this is exactly how I would describe this day. I was a freshman in high school at the time and about one hr after the storm we were riding around (in areas we could get around to) and saw the damage. It was almost unfathomable. The town looked like a complete desolated war zone. It’s like your childhood was swept away and ripped apart in a matter of 2 hours. Unforgettable day.
To this day it is still eerie driving through holt and Alberta. Abandoned parking lots, trees still standing without leaves, just the general emptiness. I’ve lived here in Tuscaloosa my whole life and I believe it is this day that made me feel really sentimental to the community.
He got some sort of award. But he has a long rap-sheet. Including Weatherman of the year,His coverage of the 2021 Oak Mountain Tornado witch literally hit his house damaging out and never stopped broadcasting, obviously this broadcast, And being extremely dedicated to his community by visiting schools to teach them about weather every day.
@@CASH-THE-NERDthe tornado hitting his backyard and he never stopped…. That was so impressive. My brother was one of the landscaping crew that helped in the cleanup for Spann. I have an autograph and a short video from James shouting me out at my brothers request. Spann is my hero! ❤ no one cares for Alabamians like he does.
Trust me, the most scary thing in human existence! Is when James Spann puts his suspenders down and rolls up his sleeves. By that point you’re a goner.
The Michael Jordan of weather right here folks. Im a native of Omaha, NE so tornados love our area but i definitely wish we had a meteorologist like JS. He's calling out all cities and or towns/villages by their names while also calling out businesses in these specific locations AND calling out specifically stated highways IN those locations. And the sugar on top he's dropping history of some of these locations of past disasters. 😤 When they say "he did his homework" here's the best example I've ever seen. JS might be the 🐐 of weather 👏
This man, the king, James Spann, literally was reporting consistently without giving up at all for 10+ hours. This man worked until his last ounce of muscle couldn't handle it. He really took the stage that day.
3:58:14 is a great example of when we as people need to take on personal responsibility for our own safety... unfortunately, many people do not have the situational awareness skills until after a major event occurs.
I wish he could have seen all the footage filmed that day, by the tower cams, chasers, the the cellphone footage from regular folks. Fujita was so excited when he discovered a young boy had filmed one of the tornadoes in the 74 outbreak, and you could hardly tell what was what because how poor the footage was. Imagine what Fujita would think about the tower-cam footage of the tornado going into Tuscaloosa.
He was a stoic guy, he would go around immediately after tornados and canvas survivors for their immediate opinions and observations. Incredible pioneer
James Spann is such an incredible meteorologist and person. He has gained my respect, what he and Jason did this day likely helped save many lives. Just in awe of the job they did on this terrible day, simply amazing!
2:35:30 - "Look at that, goodness gracious! This will be a day that will go down in state history -- and all you can do is pray for those people." That just about summed up the horrific events of that day. Jason Simpson and James Spann did an incredible job, despite the challenges caused by the morning storms that basically took out their infrastructure, in reporting these tornadoes and making people aware of the danger.
I live near Huntsville, AL and will definitely never forget this day. This happened the year after I graduated from high school, so I was still living at home and attending a community college. I remember hearing the first sirens of the day going off that morning while I was driving to class. I got there as quickly as I could. Luckily, there wasn't a tornado anywhere that close to us, but they still told us to go to the basement level of the school, and we stayed down there until we were officially in the clear. Classes resumed, but then they decided to close early, so my second class was cancelled and I got home before things got worse. My older brother is actually a meteorologist/storm chaser and lives in Oklahoma, so of course, he was keeping my parents and me updated throughout the day. He had told us the day before that it was probably going to be the "apocalypse". We knew things were going to be ugly when he said that. Normally, when we had threats of bad weather, he'd tell us everything was going to be fine and that we didn't need to be cowering in our pantry. However, this day was a totally different story. He truly sounded worried and was actually telling us to take shelter. My dad had been working that day, but luckily, my brother was able to determine a perfect window of time for him to be able to leave work and get home safely. I remember at one point, while we were taking shelter in our pantry, my brother saw a storm on the radar heading RIGHT towards us, and he started to panic...again, usually something he didn't do, so we were scared and I really thought we were going to get hit and die. He started apologizing to us and kept saying how he should have told us to get out of there (but on that day, it was so crazy and storms were just popping up everywhere, so trying to leave your house and get in your car and drive away wasn't really an option anyway because you might have just gotten caught in another one). Well, thank goodness, that particular storm ended up missing us by about a mile, and it had weakened significantly by the time it reached us, so the most it did was knock some trees down and cause some minor damage to a Taco Bell. We were only about 10 minutes away from Harvest, a town that got hit really bad, and we also had family friends who lived there, so we were super worried. One of my best friends was also going to school in Tuscaloosa, so after hearing about what happened there, I was freaking out. I texted her to ask if she was okay, but not long after, the power went out and cell phone service was down. About a day or two after the storms, I finally received a message back from her, saying she was ok physically, but not so much mentally. One of her sorority sisters unfortunately didn't survive. Our friends in Harvest were thankfully okay. Our power was out for about four days, and it was just so weird. Traffic lights were out everywhere, so we just had to treat them like four-way stops. We had a big lantern that we used at night, and I remember the moment when we were gathered around the table with the lantern talking to my brother on the phone, and suddenly, the lights came back on! It did suck being without power for that long, but I know so many people lost so much more, so I am still thankful to this day that I and all my family and friends were okay.
not the Taco Bell😞 on the other hand I’m so glad that you are safe. I’m from Tuscaloosa and was attending collage at UGA because I got a full ride scholarship there. I remember hearing about these storms coming through and hearing about the horrible storm that destroyed my hometown. It’s honestly crazy to think about these traumas and I hope your doing okay to this day with storms
I don't know how James Spann was THIS calm despite the number of EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes that touched down on that day. He is the Gary England of Alabama, and he is an absolute legend!
Coverage of the April 27th, 2011 tornado outbreak may well have been the "finest hour" in the history of television in the Birmingham, Alabama area. The TV stations there likely saved lives (perhaps tens of thousands of lives!) with their comprehensive coverage and warnings to viewers. And James Spann 's work that day has become legendary in the Birmingham area, and in Birmingham, his on-air work that day has been favorably compared to that of Walter Cronkite during the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963 and Peter Jennings on September 11th, 2001.
Even still, if it weren't for James Spann and his fellow meteorologists at other Birmingham TV stations, the death toll could have been as many as 10,000 to 20,000 people! The storms were really that destructive and could have killed that many people!
Ilovestorms Why would he feel responsible? He didn't create the storms. And watching this, it seems like he did everything possible to inform/warn people.
SmokedOut734 Yes He is. He’s a godsend!! I am not aware of any meteorologists who would stay on the air for hours reporting the tornadoes ,even though he was very tired and trying to keep everyone safe. If meteorologists gave awards,he would win a meteorologists of the year award,or perhaps of the decade. James is definitely a true hero,a unique person who cares about others,so my hats off to you,James.Im certain that this is a day that everyone who were affected by these tornadoes will always remember. I have some dear friends who live in a small town called Ashland,Ala,which is off of Highway 9 and is 5 miles from Lineville.
I just came from a Reddit thread about people's "oh shit" moment in natural disasters and one guy mentioned that his personal moment was when James Spann was reporting and said ""This day will go down in state history. All we can do is pray for these people" then our power went out and the rumble started. Never felt more doomed." Obviously, I had to watch this entire thing after I read that. It was a hell of a night... I now respect suspenders more then ever before! But seriously, so sorry to anyone effected by this. Holy hell this must have been one of the worst days of anyones life who was even remotely near this area! Edit: Just found the exact guy I was talking about in the comments... Small world! He linked the exact timestamp of that moment at 2:35:35 in the video. Thank fucking god he made it out of that!
That roar is something else. You can't describe it, you have to hear it for yourself. My family lives around Dallas/Ft. Worth and just a couple years ago our home was missed by the skin of its teeth. I HEARD that roar. I don't think it had fully touched down yet, thank GOD, because I was following the rotation on RadarScope on my phone while hunkered in a bathroom with my elderly parents and it went right over us. The roar was deafening, and I seriously thought the roof was about to come off over our heads. My parents told me they knew how serious it was in the moment solely because of how scared _I_ was, because that never happens. I stay calm. For some context, my sister and I have always been amateur weather nuts so we know how to read radars, velocity signatures, correlation coefficients, etc. In the last few years my sister has taken it even further by becoming SkyWarn and Spotter Network certified, reading meteorology textbooks online _for fun,_ and storm chasing as a photographer (ALWAYS ALWAYS from a safe distance!). Now she's even considering getting EMT certified so she can help any communities that may get hit while she's out chasing. I admire her for it, really. The only thing keeping her from becoming a meteorologist is all the math that's required for forecasting since she's severely dyslexic with numbers, unfortunately. I'm hoping I'll be able to join her on one of her chases next season as the driver so she can safely shoot photos out the window.
@@kriscynicalI've only been in an EF1 tornado (street signs and tree branches etc) but the roar of it is seriously surreal. It's like standing beside a freight train. The wind before the train gets close sending sheets of rain horizontally across the gas station wall next to your house. Leaves and stuff mixed in. You're in the most interior room of your house and on top of the freight train it sounds like every door is flinging open and closed back and forth. I peeked down the hallway halfway through (like an idiot) and they were still closed. One of the craziest things you can experience tbh
I passed through Hackleburg, AL a couple years later. Something seemed odd about the town. Then I realized there were almost no trees. Then I remembered what happened to Hackleburg on this day. It was a very sobering reminder.
James Spann, my hero! A man who survived, thanks James on camera for saving his life, in a documentary. James is humble and the man was like, 'no seriously, you saved our lives.' And he hugs James who then gets choked up. Beautiful moment. Great man.
Isaiah Montgomery me too. I remember this day. I was 7. Tornado sirens going off every 5 minutes for Calhoun, we were so lucky. We were in between Talladega and Calhoun. So sad
I'm only about a half hour into it, and I've already gotten the chills from Spann declaring a tornado emergency and talking about the multiple vortices. Like I said elsewhere, he doesn't sugar coat things, and he doesn't resort to histrionics, either, but at the same time, you can sense the urgency in his voice.
@@storyofcory what got me was when he was speaking to the mayor of Tuscaloosa after the tornado hit and briefly became emotional. You could really tell in that moment just how much he loves his state and the people in it. I wish we had him here in Ohio.
I remember listening to him say that live on the radio and it gave me chills. I will always remember everything I did that day before our lives changed forever.
What impresses me is that these guys know the major routes, they know the roads, they know the communities, they know landmarks that aren't there any more, it's just amazing.
Thank you, ABC 33/40, for preserving this coverage in its entirety. For those in the broadcast industry, this is pure gold in the sense of informing the public and trying to keep those in Alabama safe that day, and exactly what the public airwaves are intended for. James Spann is excellent at what he does, and the state is absolutely lucky and fortunate to have him. Would love to meet him someday and talk about the business.
While you are at it, there are quite a few videos of the killer tornadoes in north Alabama. one was an incredible view of the historic phil Campbell tornado bearing down on a prison. you can't resIST the ROAR! tHEN YOU HAVE THE Vicious Rainsville tornado that quietly killed more than 25 people Then you have video shot from the top of a mountain. Such an eerie angle.
I love James Spann, and I live in the upper midwest, fer pete's sake. He doesn't sugar coat things, but at the same tiime, he doesn't resort to histrionics, either. He's very level-headed; very matter-of-fact.
Mr.Spann and his friends saved a ton of lives that day. He's also a guy with a huge heart. He's a HAM radio operator, and my dad was a weather spotter that trained through Mr.Spann's outreach to the HAm Radio operator community. Back in 1996,my dad and little brother were struck by a drunk driver,and when the wreck came across the spotter, James recognized my dad's call sign and when my dad got home from the hospital, he called my dad and talked to him and prayed with him. My dad talked about that for the rest of his life. We lost my dad to Renal Cell Carcanoma brought on by Agent Orange Exposure last year,and I'll never be able to thank him enough for making one of my dad's fondest memories.
@@Chironex_Fleckeri thank you so very much. I truly appreciate your condolences. It means the world to me and my family. Those who live on in our hearts never truly die. Peace be with your journey, my friend. Stay safe,and stay healthy. #stayingalonetogether
That year was absolutely terrifying. We were living in Fayetteville, Tennessee at the time. We had never experienced anything like that. My husband had been sent to Huntsville, Alabama for his job with Boeing. We lived just north of Huntsville, in Fayetteville, TN on 111 Acres. We had been through so many hurricanes in our life time and have never been as terrified as we were that year. The 2011 tornado breakout scared us in a way we had never experienced before. We spent hours listening to the tornado sirens blaring as we watched the devastation unfolding on the news. Within 24 hours, 7 different tornadoes touched down within 1 mile of our home causing massive damage, taking many lives. We found tons of things the wind had brought and dumped throughout our property ( even a boat ). We continued to find things every time we'd go out riding our horses, four-wheelers, or a family time hike exploring our 111 Acres. Our mostly wooded property had artifacts scattered about. We found a baby album near a lake on our land, nearly unscathed by the storm that carried it. I worked diligently to find the family that the baby album belonged to ( being parents we knew how priceless these things are) 6 months after finding the baby book, we finally located the family the book belonged to. They lived more than 9 hours south west of us in Joplin, Missouri! This book, full of photos, stories and random items such as, a lock of hair from the baby's first haircut and baby teeth had traveled over 600 miles, more than a 9 hour car drive away! Finding it in such great condition, unscathed by the wind and water that brought it to our land was unbelievable! It took six months to find the family, because I was only posting ads about the book with mostly local media stations and social media outlets within an hour of our home, I never thought it could have been from so far away. A random Facebook community group post was responsible for finally connecting us to the family. We agreed to meet the family in the middle to return it first hand. After losing everything in the storm, they did not want to risk it getting lost in shipping, it was officially the only memorabilia they had left. Even after losing everything, they were so grateful to have found this priceless album. The story made many local news outlets. I will always be thankful we were able to find the book and the family that lost it. The sheer joy on their faces as we handed them the priceless baby album. These were the only photos left of the young family, after that terrible day.
I aspire to be a Meteorologist like James Spann. This man is legendary and as tragic as this event was, he was on point the whole time. He is a hero of our time. Although there still was a lot of fatalities during this outbreak, he still saved thousands of lives. He has made people want to pay more attention to severe weather during his time. He is Alabama's meteorologist. You see him in his suspenders, you know it's serious.
With the strength and number of these tornadoes, some fatalities were pretty much guaranteed even with the best warning. Especially in Cordova, you would've had to pretty much fully evacuate the town be completely safe. 🙁 But yes, he's done an excellent job not just with his coverage but also from the educational aspect, going to schools to teach kids about weather safety and changing the very mindset of people in the south to be more weather aware and safe. I wish we had a meteorologist like him where I live.
Yes he did. I'm from ttown, but I was in bham for school when this happened. I had no idea what was going on until I switched the TV to James and heard him say, "if you're in downtown bham and you see debris...that is coming from tuscaloosa! Get in a safe place!" I looked out my dorm window and a huge piece of debris floating in the air like paper and I ran to safety. So scary that day.
I remeber my family was huddled around the tv watching this and the moment he said our county the power went out, and what sounded like a train started heading our way. thankfully the radio feed never cut out until the tornado could be seen. this event sealed James Spann as the legend of ABC
24:40 is the last thing we saw before our power went out. I lived in Good Hope at the time and our power remained out for a week after that. Thankfully, we didn't have any damage to our home, but a large portion of Cullman County was completely obliterated.
The public couldn't have asked for anyone more qualified and professional to keep them calm and well informed throughout this incredible event. James is the best.
I've watched this whole thing several times now. Still stunning how bad that outbreak turned out to be. James Spann did an excellent job with his coverage, though... Alabama is lucky to have him.
Matt Chadbourne I remember watching the coverage live and thinking every storm on radar had a tornado. James and his staff did an amazing job keeping up with all the storms.
Matt Chadbourne He is amazing. We had some storms come through Sunday and I watched him until things were calm. I’ve Ben praying for Mississippi and those in Alabama and Georgia that we’re hit this Sunday. 😔
Agree! Watch the 14+ min Tuscaloosa tornado video with James and Jason on that horrific day. Honestly I don’t know how they were able to hold their composure. It was certainly a horrific day for us! I’m from Huntsville and we all knew about James Spann in Huntsville, he’s probably the BEST meteorologist ever!!! And Jason ended up working in Huntsville and personally serving us. When our meteorologists say this is going to be a big deal, and take shelter or get underground if you can, we LISTEN to them.
I try and watch this at least once a year. Been doing it since I got into weather in 2020. I watch it to remember those that lost everything and more. James Spann is one of if not the best TV meteorologists, saved countless lives that day.
Stephanie Baird How could you forget. It will definitely go down in history as one of the worst tornado outbreaks. I think there were 3 EF5s just on the 27th alone. Astonishing. All of those ingredients coming together in spades. I can't image how it must have felt to be a meteorologist on the days before it started looking at the reports and knowing how bad things were going to be. All the conditions were perfect for strong long track tornados..knowing people have become desensitized to weather warnings, but knowing this time it was different. Most people can't be convinced until it's too late. Like for me, when bad weather is around I stay glued to weather reports, but I'm also actually interested in it. Most people aren't. They react to weather rather than anticipating it. In situations like what happened that day, you can't afford not to anticipate it.
My family and I were hit directly in Tuscaloosa. We were buried under debri and actually lost several neighbors. But James Spann literally saved our lives. Forever indebted. Thank you 🙏🏾 our hometown hero
I’m glad your ok. And I’m glad that your family survived. I was attending collage in Georgia at that time but I’m from Tuscaloosa myself and lost family. James Spann is why the rest survived though and I am also forever indebted because I could’ve lost everyone
Same. It was a very historic outbreak. Will never forget it. Made me absolutely terrified of bad weather now. I shake when we have a severe weather watch/warning :|
My hat goes off to James Spann for spectacular coverage of this historic event. This man was on air for 8 hours straight with little to no breaks and just kept moving along.
I have watched this man for over 25 years. There is no one else like him. During severe weather, I refuse to watch anyone but James. He really is a gift. My son is the same way now. he grew up with James, so whenever there is severe weather, he'll ask what James has to say. My whole family appreciates this man.
What an excellent reporter. I don't even live in Alabama, but being from Dixie Alley there's something about these extended storm coverage events that I find so nostalgic and comforting. I love hearing these weather reports.
EVERY meteorologist who interacts with the public should strive to do their job the way Mr. Spann does. I hope the next generation does as great a job walking in his footsteps.
Ive scanned thru this video many times due to my fascination with tornadoes ...it's probably one of the best live news coverage that ive seen. The weather men in that station prob saved many of lives that day...amazing. Sad but amazing.
Even though some 250 people were killed in this outbreak, James Spann's reporting during the April 27th, 2011 tornado outbreak likely saved dozens, if not hundreds, of other lives. It was the "finest hour" (not just Spann's station, but all of the Birmingham news stations) in the history of Alabama television.
@@morgangrey4020 Spann could only do so much. His job is to report whats going on and tell people to take cover. He can't force people to take cover and he can't help if people are being weather aware of whats going on.
James Spann did a good job of covering the afternoon tornadoes and should be celebrated but the fact is that millions of people did not have power by the time those storms rolled through the state in the afternoon due to the line of tornado producing storms that struck in the morning. This narrative that people purposefully ignore tornado watches and warnings was debunked decades ago and it needs to die again.
I was in 2nd grade when this happened. I live in Hartselle, AL. I remember being in school until 5:45. The outbreak sparked my interest in tornadoes. Now I'm focusing on going to the University of Oklahoma.
Wishing you all of the best of luck in your future meteorological studies at the University of Oklahoma and perhaps someday you can be a meteorological hero like James Spann. And,you can be standing there beside James forecasting these tornadoes 🌪 someday and you too can be a hero,like him.
HgRoller he also did the coverage in the morning starting at around 3:30 am-9:00 am, he might have had some time to rest before this second grouping, I’m not sure if he was on between. It is very possible he was at work for 18+ hours straight but he was definitely on air for 13 of that
I had a tornado almost hit us the other day, but god I can't imagine having to deal with something as bad as this. All respect goes to the victims and survivors.
One of the tornadoes went right behind my grandparents home and luckily missed them. The most amazing part of it all to me is that there was little bits of debris scattered in their yard and I went out and picked it up and found a baseball card that was almost perfectly fine, one of the corners was bent a little and it had a few small little scratches on it but I have always found it amazing how tornadoes can cause such awful destruction and also leave whole houses unscathed, or pick up a baseball card and hardly mess it up
I am amazed at Jason's professionalism his family and friends houses were being hit he is able to deliver the news clearly and accurately and give correct information
April 27, 2011 was a high risk day that made not April 2011 but 2011 itself history as the 2011 Super Outbreak, surpassing the '74 Super Outbreak with many tornadoes in a single month of 700+ confirmed, with April 27th being most prolific with over 200+ tornadoes that day (62 tornadoes in Alabama & others in several states).. RIP to those who lost their lives in this challenging severe weather outbreak
@@Tornado1994 But even then, it had fewer tornadoes compared to April 27th itself. May 2019 also had a historic Outbreak Sequence, but around half of the tornadoes on the entire sequence compared to just April 27th.
@@iceresistance May 2003 outbreak had the same* number of tornadoes as the 2011 super outbreak (363 vs 367). However, the 2011 had 50% more significant tornadoes and only spanned eight days as opposed to 2003's nine days.
This day changed my life forever!! Hackleburg was where I grew up and went too school and I didn't even recognize it I didn't think there was anyway anyone could have survived. I could have easily been in the Hackleburg EF5 but wasnt I was about 7 miles away in Hodges and at 4:20pm an EF3 tornado hit my house it was the same tornado that hit Smithville MS as an EF5. Scariest day of my life
James Spann did not spare the seriousness of these tornadoes, yet broadcasted with coolheadedness, heart, and accuracy. He's a gem of the meteorology science world!
Yeah, his comment during the early AM footage where he tells parents worried about getting their kids ready for school to not worry about their principal, and if they (the principals) say anything, to have them call him (Spann). A moment of levity in a day that went well beyond a "particularly dangerous situation"...
Wow. Compare the amount of warning time that we have today as compared to, say, April 3, 1974 -- think about THIS system sweeping through with zero warning, and the amount of lives that could have been lost. I went through a F4 tornado in the Cincinnati area in April 1999. Before then, I didn't really take these things all that seriously. Now? I take them VERY seriously. I'll NEVER forget that sound. Absolutely terrifying.
Duneedon I remember that one in Blue Ash. Also, the March 2, 2012 outbreak that passed 15 miles south of my then home in Florence (EF4 in Crittenden/Piner). When they issued a tornado emergency that included Boone County I ran for the basement. And I’m a weather nerd.
Drove through parts of Joplin Missouri a few years ago including ground zero for the 2011 tornado. What was stunning was encountering trees that had completely stripped by the tornado.
I live near Huntsville, AL, and I was in the 6th grade at the time. I remember my only reason for not going to school that day was that my sister had gotten sick and had to go to the doctor. Now, I'm a freshman at the University of Alabama [yes, this guy is still on the news down here]. You know shit just got serious when James Spann's sleeves are rolled up like that.
Up here in Dayton Ohio, we had a tornado emergency and the lead meteorologist broke down in tears. I could not imagine her doing something like this for hours on end. I think it lasted about 90 mins from the start of the tornadoes to the end and she was falling apart, live on the air. The meteorologist down there are incredible.
@Lauren Box sorry about that..😞 but everyone being ok is ALL that matters! 🙂 that was the weirdest thing as I was literally just wondering how everything was going as far as your house/property did during that storm when I seen your response! But yeah, I am a weather nerd, watching t.v weather alerts everywhere in the country, usually years and years old lol. If I was just a little younger I would probably of attempted to become a meteorologist but just don't have the money or time. Lol but yeah, I talk a lot but anyways at least everyone was safe and thank God for that!
There was also a meteorologist almost cussing people out for thinking he was lying. I got married the night before that storm system. I'm from Cincinnati btw
I defy anyone not to feel some emotion in that situation. Especially if your family is anywhere near the path. In fact, Jason Simpson got a little emotional at one point in the morning coverage when a storm impacted his family in Holly Pond. The folks on TV are humans just like us… they’re just humans in a far more public role than the average Joe or Jane.
The day after this, I drove from Hoover to Decatur and could easily see the track of 6 different tornadoes crossing I65. These guys and gals saved countless lives that day. Thanks.
I drove the next day from Shelby county back home to mountain Brook (Cahaba heights side) and driving up 280 it was like a different world. At least homes weren’t completely missing, but the damage was unreal. The entire landscape is different, with the amount of trees it took. You could smell it in the air.
I was 7 on this day, but I'll never forget sitting in my hallway all day and seeing that look on my mom and dad's faces that said something really horrible was happening
I am still surprised that a movie wasn't made about this incredible event. It would have been called the REAL Perfect Storm. Chances are ,we will never see any Thing Close to this again.
I just turned four on the 25th, while we never took a direct hit, the Centreville-Brent EF-3 went straight for us in Alabaster. Even though it lifted, the halfway down funnel went directly over us. The amount of debris dropped was very disheartening. With the last out break we had last year, we had one nail Montevallo. I do remember (I am a junior at montevallo fire) the chief sent a text to everyone to be prepared to directly respond last year. Hopefully this season is better than the last 3!
I was on the road to Florida for a choir trip when I got a text from my mother that Tuscaloosa and Birmingham were in the path of these tornadoes and that they couldn’t reach my uncle (mother’s younger brother) who lives in Birmingham and works in Tuscaloosa as the University of Alabama’s attorney. We didn’t hear anything from him until the next morning when he traveled back to Mobile, AL (my hometown and current town) and stopped at a gas station to use a pay phone because the cell service was out. He actually got out of Tuscaloosa before the tornado hit and got his wife and kids out of Birmingham before another one hit. I highly respect James Spann and look up to him. As a former student of meteorology, I can say without a doubt that his dedication, despite him being tired from streaming for 14 hrs, AND getting a text from his wife during the broadcast that she was in the basement and their house was being hit and managed to text a “I love you” to him, is what a true meteorologist is. He truly indeed saved many lives that day, probably including my uncle.
i live in wisconsin , and i cant say i know a better weatherman anywhere ! hes a walking book of knowledge , he truthfuly loves and cares about people and pours out his heart to save lives and warn people of immenent dangers they may be facing ! he has a photographic memory of roads , places , landmarks , times, dates and everything else that is important ! i watch his videos over and over ! he will never be forgotten ! he can never be replaced , he is the one and only and everyone else is the immatation !
At 2:35:36, James says "All you can do is pray for those people". On the 10th anniversary of this last April, he wrote a book with his quotation entitled "All you can do is pray".
What some people don't know is that the other meteorologist, Jason Simpson was on air that day for almost 14 hours. He was on the air during the morning storms, when members of his family were hit by a tornado. His performance that day secured him along with James, a place in history and was the main reason he was able to become the chief meteorologist of a television station in Huntsville, Alabama.
Yeah I found that out as well.....that day there was no such thing as keeping your humanity out the office 4 any of the team......
Perfectly stated, Brandon.
And these guys deserve recognition for their performances during that day even there were too many storms to cover all at once. And I know behind the scenes they were deeply in bunch emotions with their families in the path of the storms. They were brave enough to keep focused on the coverage and warn everyone about the approaching tornadoes. Even Jason Simpson himself broke down in tears and told his colleague Gary that this was gonna be that day where a major violent tornado outbreak was gonna cause lots of mass casualties and sure enough that's when it lit a fuse to a bomb across Alabama with so much wind shear, unstable air mass and convection taking place after that midday on April 27 after the sun had popped out. The morning storms were just a prime example of how really bad it was gonna get and then came the afternoon and evening supercell thunderstorms over spreading and producing violent tornadoes across Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, and from Texas to New York. April 27, 2011 went down in history as one the worst high risk days and historical tornado outbreak!
And Jason retired this year from WHNT. They were some of the most amazing heroes that day.
@@marthavarner3961 Him and James Spann are amazing. :)
This dude is unbelievable at his job. Holy shit. This might be the best I’ve ever seen someone do something in any field, ever. He has a photographic memory. Nonstop information of previous dates/events that, exact knowledge of all roads in his state and the buildings there, just unreal. Props to this guy for doing such an incredible job. Saved a lot of people’s lives.
A lot of that knowledge of the roads and landmarks was self-taught. He actually uses a lot of those back roads to get to some of the school talks he does.
Thats why i wanna be a meteorologist when i grow up. I was in this tornado and i was watching him on my phone and i was like "Mom, when i get older i want to save peoples lives" and my mom was scared ofc but she said "so you want to be in the 911 situation?" And i responded saying i want to me a meteorologist. We were still in out closet at the time. This was the worst tornado but he is the reason why i wanna be a meteorologist
@@selfryed I hope you have found your passion! Meteorology is, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating fields in natural science.
@@BobbyJHeupel very is! One night me and my family were watching tornadoes for no reason 😂 and i was teaching them stuff about the tornadoes!
He is a state institution and can tell you the most obscure landmark in the tiniest towns. I can't hardly navigate my way to Wal Mart. He also has a system of severity. If the jacket is off, you need to pay attention. Especially if the sleeves are rolled up.
Cullman tornado- 27:45
TV Tower collapse in distance- 38:27
Tuscaloosa Tornado - 2:34:00
Lightning Strike - 3:25:17
Tornado moving through Birmingham - 3:30:00
Tornado from Red Mountain Expressway ALDOT cam - 3:33:25
Fultondale Damage - 5:07:38
Tuscaloosa Damage - 5:37:30
legend
They pointed out the Cullman TV tower, but I think they both missed it's collapse.
Thx bro
Great work, youre a legend. Also he said "that hospital is churning towards the airport" during the Birmingham tornado lmao. Gotta give him a pass he had a hell of a day
@@mattb6646 at that point there were probably pieces of a hospital or two in the tornado. So in a way he wasn't wrong.
I sat in front of my computer at home in Durham, NC watching this stream while the Tuscaloosa tornado came through and I was in awe. Not just because of James Spann's incredible performance, but because the ABC 33/40 stream never glitched, never hiccuped, never buffered or stopped through the worst of it. BTW, the thing that blows my mind about Spann isn't just his calm manner or his great voice or his skill as a meteorologist, it's how much of an encyclopedic knowledge of geography he has in his coverage area. He knows every highway, every church, every landmark and can instantly identify them to give people accurate information on where the danger is. Astonishing.
Moose004 became tiny school today, he’s really funny irl
He grew up in the area
@@patrickperry8951 99% of the population don't know the area they grew up in like James Spann.
That knowledge has undoubtedly saved lives. There are a ton of people who hear “northeast corner” or “eastern portion..” and they’re just not sure if it applies to them. But James throws out landmarks and street intersections and people KNOW where he means.
Blake Martin That can’t be true. Yes, some people might not be familiar with the area they grew up in, but 99% of everyone seems kind of high.
I didn't really want to spend my night watching 8 hours of a live news broadcast from 2011, but here we are. That dude is an absolute legend, so many lives saved because of this broadcast.
Be glad you didn't see it then. I had PTSD for months! Granted, as a scientist I have climate anxiety, but back then it wasn't nearly as bad. This event allowed me to fully picture what's ahead. And so I also joined the Red Cross, BTW. I figured they could use my skills, and they did. And still do.
Jesus Christ Is Coming Soon Repent & Draw Near To Him ❤️❤️✝️🙏❤
@@atrmediaofficial Christ was a man of action - he would act against the fossil fuel industry and the banks and governments that support it. But you do you.
James and his whole team are heros from that day. Saved THOUSANDS
Except Joplin. Jesus christ
Spann should have at LEAST been named Meteorologist of the Year.
Earnharvick ABC 33/40 did end up winning some award for their coverage of this out break. I don't remember if James spann ever got anything.
He was named Broadcaster of the Year by the National Weather Association, and he received the Award for Broadcast Meteorology from the American Meteorological Society
he was interviewed by the national news to be their meteorologist too after all this. This day definitely got him alot of attention. It was well deserved. A true professional.
Have heard James Spann being referred to as The Official Meteorologist of The State of Alabama.
Jesus Christ Is Coming Soon Repent & Draw Near To Him ❤️❤️✝️🙏❤
Is anyone watching 12 years later? Prayers today for the victims of this outbreak.
I watch this almost monthly. I'm from Kentucky and even I will NEVER forget this day.
13 years
I watch this a lot even now3/12/2024
@@mpk6664 I watched from PA. I swear, I had PTSD for a month.
Watching it again even though I lived it. I was one of the folks who had no power from the morning round. I had to rely on messages from my mom to let me know what was happening. I watched James’ coverage after it was uploaded to RUclips and now have seen it several times. I’ll never forget that day. No Alabamian ever will. ❤
“Nothing scares me, but that thing...”
*James Spann without a coat and his sleeves rolled up*
“it scares me...”
Lol thats when you know hes serious
So basically, James Spann taking off his jacket is the central Alabama equivalent of Jim Cantore showing up in a beach town--you know shit's about to get real?
Moose004 I never thought about that but yes exactly😂😂
we got Ben Jones in Central GA he has sleeves rolled up its bout to go down
When he takes off his shirt, you know the world's about to end.
James Spann is a true professional handling a difficult situation. He probably helped save lives that day.
He definitely did - no doubt about it. I listened to a podcast with him a while back, and he seems to take the loss of life there in this personally as he feels he could of done "better" - which breaks my heart, as he literally couldn't of done more I think. I don't live in Alabama, but this guy is so passionate about his work that I've heard of him all the way here. He was quoted as saying he's going to spend the rest of his career working to improve systems to get people warned and in safe locations. That's a hell of a man right there.
@@GravyHucker I wonder how he could feel responsible for some of the deaths, I honestly don't know what more he could've done. The man stayed on air for 18 hours. I wonder what he wishes he could've done better/different, I honestly can't think of one thing.
@@astridvvv9662 a wise man once said "Those who do the most for their fellow man often feel the most insignificant - it's what drives them to greatness." James could NOT of done anything more than he did, he just strives to be the best guy he can be.
Leo Fender that might just be my quote for my senior year. I’m going to find the source, but that is one damn fine quote.
No probably about it. He did it it wasn’t for him a lot more people would have been killed. He should have gotten a medal that day
2:35:35: This is the last thing we heard before our power went out in Tuscaloosa. Five years later, watching this again, I'm reminded of how thankful I am for James Spann. We had time to call my father and tell him a tornado was coming - several minutes before his home (Arcadia, Alberta City area of town) was very nearly destroyed. Thankful he survived, still think often and pray for those who did not. I hope this never, ever, ever happens in my lifetime again.
+Brett Alt ah Parkersburg. That's the one you can't find much video of besides the people at the car wash after graduation, and they took shelter in a restaurants cooler. The Joplin one has a lot of up close, inside the tornado type video like that. Parkersburg doesn't even have any weather news coverage online. I'd have liked to have seen it.
+ILovestorms I agree with you. I am only referring to the home videos of being inside the thing, so to speak. The gas station one where they're all in the cooler is a pretty popular video. I've yet to see any videos here on YT of the Tuscaloosa/Birmingham tornado SUPER up close. I hope I'm making sense.
+ILovestorms well joplin was a monster unto itself.........but as a whole the 27th was the worse as far the outbreak goes.
The Hackleburgh/Phil Campbell tornado was the REAL monster. Stayed on the ground for 132 miles and stayed at EF5 for most of that path. Luckily that thing missed the Huntsville/Decatur area. Traveling at as much as 75 MPH, can you imagine the devastation and death toll it would have wreaked? That thing had a legendary engine on her.
3340
What I've learned over my 36 years is if your local weather man interrupts regularly scheduled programming on TV without their suit jackets on...shit is going down.
Those suspenders where in an EF 4 situation
Right?
I don’t understand. Is it because they’re not prepared for the situation? So like the just come on because it’s like an emergency lol
It's because they don't have time, there were violent tornadoes pretty much nonstop the entire day that day
@@Jake-sk5wmJames definitely did not expect to be on air for over 12+ hours that day.
When James goes on air in is red suspenders and sleeves rolled up you know its getting real
thomas allen that's like me in Oklahoma if Gary England took his coat off you knew it was gonna get ugly.
thomas allen yes sleeves up is a red flag if my grandma saw his sleeves up she made us get in our safe place she didn't care if the storm was in Tuscaloosa we live in Birmingham
I have to agree. James Spann, coat off, suspenders on, sleeves rolled up. Yep. Its a bad day in the Birmingham, AL Television market.
And that's when tornadoes run AWAY from Birmingham. When Spann gets on the air they RUN!
Nolan Cain KFVS?
Who's here 13 years later?
Helps with sleep 💤 relaxing watching storms is therapeutic!
me hi
Yes
Me
I am
This tornado outbreak brought to you by Ford.
"SkyCam is brought to you by Compass Insurance. Bet you wish you had Compass Insurance now."
Y'all are horrible. Damn you for making me laugh.
Y'all going to hell 😂
Tornado coverage delivered by the gas guzzling, all new F-150.
Lol
James Spann is my hero. I don’t live in Tuscaloosa, I live in California, but the fact that he saved so many lives that day makes me look up to him. I aspire to be just like him when I become a meteorologist.
I live in Birmingham and have all my life. I don't believe I'm stretching the truth when I say that James Spann is the most trusted man in Alabama. And on top of that, he's an amazingly good person as well
@@davidbird60 I'm in Tennessee and I watch James Spann😂
You would do well to use James Spann as an inspiration. He is the real deal.
@Lauren Box I'm so glad your family was safe. I can't even imagine how many lives James Spann has saved during his career.
Hey man, hope your life turned like you wanted :)
I met a high school student who wants to be a meteorologist. I referred him to this video. I told him this is what you need to aspire to be.
I wanna be a meteorologist, and watching these videos is preparing me for what exactly i need to learn (well, not exactly, but basic premise)
Number one thing is the counties and cities. Second is the velocity
Durnheviir The Undead Dragon that is so sweet ❤️
Failynn black James Spann is all around amazing. Not just for what you see here. After the storm, he was out there. He speaks to children, and helps them feel safer during bad weather. He understands.
Just about any man should aspire to be like the good Mr. Span
Not ever meteorologist is a weatherman, and not every weatherman is a meteorologist.
That horizontal vortex at 34:38 onward is unbefuckinglievable.
i know that thing got so long and it lasted for such a long time.
very VERY specific conditions for that to happen its beautiful but horrifying
That was going on with all the big tornadoes in the outbreak. Amazing how similar they all looked. They all even had that crazy amount of lightning just ahead of their path.
Facts. Honestly thought it was a sister tornado trying to stretch down to the ground
Yeah, at one point it sucks in the other funnel for a while! Those are some strong winds.
Who knew a man in a dress shirt, tie, and suspenders would be the coolest dude in the world. And such a hero. He is by far the best weatherman I have seen.
can't believe a REAL LIFE TORNADO WASSENT MADE ABOUT THIS IN CREDIBLE. DISASTER INCREDIBLE
He puts Rick Mecklenburg to shame.
Everytime on April 27 at 4:27 pm I remember the time that my dad passed and many more that day, rip the people who died in the tornadoes
God bless your family!
It is the worst thing to experience. To lose someone close to you. I lost a few of my friends in Greensburg at the time the ef5 tornado struck back in 2007. I had to start my life over again
Ultimate Cogbuster prayers go to you
Ultimate Cogbuster prayers for you
***** Cool....i dont care
55:45 "1974 was the largest outbreak in history" He says as the largest outbreak in history is unfolding...
April 27 was the largest it broke the 1974 record by 218 tornadoes.
Not sure, but a multi-day event is classified as an, 'outbreak sequence'. The '74 outbreak has the record for most (e)f5's in one day.
Realistically, though; only one or two would have been classified an EF5 by today's standards.
this outbreak lasted nearly 4 days, but all the other days besides 27th, had like 50 tornadoes. the 27th on it's own broke the record.
ChalkTalkTV Based of information I've read those two tornadoes would probably be the Xenia, OH tornado and the Guin, AL tornado of 4-3-74.
This entire coverage should be preserved & used as an educational tool for future meteorologists.
I imagine it will be, it's the best coverage I've ever seen. Just a fantastic job by James and Jason.
They are our treasure
Yes I agree! What's sad is even with how amazing this coverage is James still beats himself up alot over not doing good enough etc... That's how you can tell he really cares and has alot of passion for what he does.
But that's just it: no matter how much we study tornadoes, there are always some every year that baffle the accumulated data, indicators, etc. Every time we think we know what the conditions are supposed to be like, suddenly an outbreak in conditions that don't make sense. Every time we think wind shear is necessary, a tornado appears where there wasn't any. Tornadoes are one disaster where, no matter how much information we collect, it does virtually nothing to prepare for the future ones.
@@peachxtaehyung That's why it pisses me off so bad when you get doorstops on platforms like Twitter talking down about "TV weathermen" and how useless they are just for getting a prediction wrong and they'll argue till they're blue in the face that meteorologists DON'T save lives.
It's the embodiment of "Tell me you've never been through a dangerous weather event without _telling me_ you've never been through a dangerous weather event." 🙄🤦♀️
18:50 We always thought it maxed at 10...yeaaaah that's not a good sign
TILR 1:27:55 you can hear the disbelief at a 15.3
@@CTFD13 with both Spann and Simpson harmonizing in their disbelief.
@Lauren Box Wow I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Our county in Virginia luckily has only had a few close calls. Hope you all have recovered since then, but yeah the people who work in weather from the UN's World Meteorological Organization, to the US's National Weather Service, to the local TV reports are truly heros. Without them there would be more property damage and lives lost would happen without their work. ♥️
@@TILR The WMO? You're kidding, right? This faux oligarchy promulgates political mandates from their ivory tower. They aren't heroes in local American weather.
The true heroes are the volunteer storm spotters and chasers who sit in front of storms calling in storm reports. And, the local National Weather Service County Warning Area managers who consolidate these reports into formative actions in their local areas. And, the local Emergency Management Area managers who act on these spotter reports and NWS warnings. There are also many police officers and volunteer firemen who risk their lives to identify storms on the ground - in real time - as well. Then these same people, the storm spotters, the volunteer firemen in rural areas, and the police officers go into the areas hit by the storms and perform search & rescue functions. These are truly the heroes. Not some international oligarchy such as the WMO.
Stick to Minecraft son. Let the American adults handle the American storm season.
@@2200Z you do know that the National Weather Service works with the WMO right? I never said storms spotters aren't heros as well. And as an American adult following the guidelines of our CDC and my state I will stay at home and play some Minecraft.
I remember this day vividly. I was a college kid, on 15th street when the tornado passed over. The destruction was so violent.....so complete...that I was literally disoriented when we emerged. You had no landmarks to get your bearings with. No familiarity. It was like being transported to a foreign land. I will never forget the disorientation, the cool breeze, and the smell of sulfur. Truly a horrific day.
John D I too remember it very much like yourself. I was on the corner of McFarland and 15th. After walking out to literally NOTHING that I recognized, the next most terrifying thing was not being able to access any form of news and thinking another one could possibly be heading toward us again. All I could think of was that there was literally NOWHERE safe to go bc everywhere around me was leveled. 😢😢😢😢
John D this is exactly how I would describe this day. I was a freshman in high school at the time and about one hr after the storm we were riding around (in areas we could get around to) and saw the damage. It was almost unfathomable. The town looked like a complete desolated war zone. It’s like your childhood was swept away and ripped apart in a matter of 2 hours. Unforgettable day.
That's what happened to the girl in wizard of oz
cannot imagine having been in that location. I work a lot in T-town and remember what 15th Street looked like in the aftermath.
To this day it is still eerie driving through holt and Alberta. Abandoned parking lots, trees still standing without leaves, just the general emptiness. I’ve lived here in Tuscaloosa my whole life and I believe it is this day that made me feel really sentimental to the community.
James Spann deserves a Damn award of some kind for his work that night
justin johns He most certainly does!!
Actually, James Spann did win some sort of award for his coverage on this day.
I believe they gave him an Emmy Award for this
He got some sort of award. But he has a long rap-sheet. Including Weatherman of the year,His coverage of the 2021 Oak Mountain Tornado witch literally hit his house damaging out and never stopped broadcasting, obviously this broadcast, And being extremely dedicated to his community by visiting schools to teach them about weather every day.
@@CASH-THE-NERDthe tornado hitting his backyard and he never stopped…. That was so impressive. My brother was one of the landscaping crew that helped in the cleanup for Spann. I have an autograph and a short video from James shouting me out at my brothers request. Spann is my hero! ❤ no one cares for Alabamians like he does.
You know it's legit when a 65 year old with a tie and suspenders comes up
Noah the Slender Boa Not even close to his age. He is 61 now. Back then he would have been 55.
@Yar Nunya who cares about aging? Lol he cares about saving lives
Trust me, the most scary thing in human existence! Is when James Spann puts his suspenders down and rolls up his sleeves. By that point you’re a goner.
Scp fan yay
The Michael Jordan of weather right here folks. Im a native of Omaha, NE so tornados love our area but i definitely wish we had a meteorologist like JS.
He's calling out all cities and or towns/villages by their names while also calling out businesses in these specific locations AND calling out specifically stated highways IN those locations.
And the sugar on top he's dropping history of some of these locations of past disasters. 😤
When they say "he did his homework" here's the best example I've ever seen. JS might be the 🐐 of weather
👏
This man, the king, James Spann, literally was reporting consistently without giving up at all for 10+ hours. This man worked until his last ounce of muscle couldn't handle it. He really took the stage that day.
2:37:22
"We're gonna stay with this as long as we keep power"
These exact words were on the radio brodcast coverage
James Spann. Coat off, suspenders on, sleeves rolled up, its going to be a bad day weather wise in the Birmingham Televison Market.
When he puts those suspenders down you’re a goner.
3:58:14 is a great example of when we as people need to take on personal responsibility for our own safety... unfortunately, many people do not have the situational awareness skills until after a major event occurs.
Fox Mulder that same asinine thinking is why people don’t learn
terry may Yep, that same thinking is why C19 is as bad as it is.
I wish Dr. Fujita was still here today . I really would have loved to hear his opinion on what happened that day. That day was unreal
I wish he could have seen all the footage filmed that day, by the tower cams, chasers, the the cellphone footage from regular folks. Fujita was so excited when he discovered a young boy had filmed one of the tornadoes in the 74 outbreak, and you could hardly tell what was what because how poor the footage was.
Imagine what Fujita would think about the tower-cam footage of the tornado going into Tuscaloosa.
@James Nuttes no need for the hostility or name calling, James. Go take a chill pill.
He was a stoic guy, he would go around immediately after tornados and canvas survivors for their immediate opinions and observations. Incredible pioneer
James Spann is such an incredible meteorologist and person. He has gained my respect, what he and Jason did this day likely helped save many lives. Just in awe of the job they did on this terrible day, simply amazing!
2:35:30 - "Look at that, goodness gracious! This will be a day that will go down in state history -- and all you can do is pray for those people."
That just about summed up the horrific events of that day. Jason Simpson and James Spann did an incredible job, despite the challenges caused by the morning storms that basically took out their infrastructure, in reporting these tornadoes and making people aware of the danger.
James is one of the most professional meteorologists around without a doubt.
He would make a great professor.
I live near Huntsville, AL and will definitely never forget this day. This happened the year after I graduated from high school, so I was still living at home and attending a community college. I remember hearing the first sirens of the day going off that morning while I was driving to class. I got there as quickly as I could. Luckily, there wasn't a tornado anywhere that close to us, but they still told us to go to the basement level of the school, and we stayed down there until we were officially in the clear. Classes resumed, but then they decided to close early, so my second class was cancelled and I got home before things got worse. My older brother is actually a meteorologist/storm chaser and lives in Oklahoma, so of course, he was keeping my parents and me updated throughout the day. He had told us the day before that it was probably going to be the "apocalypse". We knew things were going to be ugly when he said that. Normally, when we had threats of bad weather, he'd tell us everything was going to be fine and that we didn't need to be cowering in our pantry. However, this day was a totally different story. He truly sounded worried and was actually telling us to take shelter. My dad had been working that day, but luckily, my brother was able to determine a perfect window of time for him to be able to leave work and get home safely. I remember at one point, while we were taking shelter in our pantry, my brother saw a storm on the radar heading RIGHT towards us, and he started to panic...again, usually something he didn't do, so we were scared and I really thought we were going to get hit and die. He started apologizing to us and kept saying how he should have told us to get out of there (but on that day, it was so crazy and storms were just popping up everywhere, so trying to leave your house and get in your car and drive away wasn't really an option anyway because you might have just gotten caught in another one). Well, thank goodness, that particular storm ended up missing us by about a mile, and it had weakened significantly by the time it reached us, so the most it did was knock some trees down and cause some minor damage to a Taco Bell. We were only about 10 minutes away from Harvest, a town that got hit really bad, and we also had family friends who lived there, so we were super worried. One of my best friends was also going to school in Tuscaloosa, so after hearing about what happened there, I was freaking out. I texted her to ask if she was okay, but not long after, the power went out and cell phone service was down. About a day or two after the storms, I finally received a message back from her, saying she was ok physically, but not so much mentally. One of her sorority sisters unfortunately didn't survive. Our friends in Harvest were thankfully okay. Our power was out for about four days, and it was just so weird. Traffic lights were out everywhere, so we just had to treat them like four-way stops. We had a big lantern that we used at night, and I remember the moment when we were gathered around the table with the lantern talking to my brother on the phone, and suddenly, the lights came back on! It did suck being without power for that long, but I know so many people lost so much more, so I am still thankful to this day that I and all my family and friends were okay.
not the Taco Bell😞 on the other hand I’m so glad that you are safe. I’m from Tuscaloosa and was attending collage at UGA because I got a full ride scholarship there. I remember hearing about these storms coming through and hearing about the horrible storm that destroyed my hometown. It’s honestly crazy to think about these traumas and I hope your doing okay to this day with storms
Thank you for sharing your story. Glad you and your family were all okay!
Thanks for sharing this.
I don't know how James Spann was THIS calm despite the number of EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes that touched down on that day.
He is the Gary England of Alabama, and he is an absolute legend!
Other way around.... Gary England is the James Spaan of OKC
@@jeffvanschoonhoven5171 I call James Spann the "Gary England of Alabama" for a reason, he is THAT CALM!
Well those two along with Dr Greg Forbes of TWC are 3 of the 4 on the Mt Rushmore of meterologists
James spann is a legend
Coverage of the April 27th, 2011 tornado outbreak may well have been the "finest hour" in the history of television in the Birmingham, Alabama area.
The TV stations there likely saved lives (perhaps tens of thousands of lives!) with their comprehensive coverage and warnings to viewers.
And James Spann 's work that day has become legendary in the Birmingham area, and in Birmingham, his on-air work that day has been favorably compared to that of Walter Cronkite during the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963 and Peter Jennings on September 11th, 2001.
Even still, if it weren't for James Spann and his fellow meteorologists at other Birmingham TV stations, the death toll could have been as many as 10,000 to 20,000 people!
The storms were really that destructive and could have killed that many people!
Ilovestorms Why would he feel responsible? He didn't create the storms. And watching this, it seems like he did everything possible to inform/warn people.
If it wasn't for him, (if I lived in Alabama) there would've been at least 100,000 deaths!
SmokedOut734 Yes He is. He’s a godsend!! I am not aware of any meteorologists who would stay on the air for hours reporting the tornadoes ,even though he was very tired and trying to keep everyone safe. If meteorologists gave awards,he would win a meteorologists of the year award,or perhaps of the decade. James is definitely a true hero,a unique person who cares about others,so my hats off to you,James.Im certain that this is a day that everyone who were affected by these tornadoes will always remember. I have some dear friends who live in a small town called Ashland,Ala,which is off of Highway 9 and is 5 miles from Lineville.
The pause around 1:27:55 when he sees the significant tornado index is so chilling / unsettling
Did anybody else see that antenna fall at 38:28? That's wild. Just shows how strong that Cullman tornado actually was.
I did too. It literally happened right after Jason mentioned it.
I saw a comment say it was a communication tower collapsing.
I just came from a Reddit thread about people's "oh shit" moment in natural disasters and one guy mentioned that his personal moment was when James Spann was reporting and said ""This day will go down in state history. All we can do is pray for these people" then our power went out and the rumble started. Never felt more doomed." Obviously, I had to watch this entire thing after I read that. It was a hell of a night... I now respect suspenders more then ever before! But seriously, so sorry to anyone effected by this. Holy hell this must have been one of the worst days of anyones life who was even remotely near this area!
Edit: Just found the exact guy I was talking about in the comments... Small world! He linked the exact timestamp of that moment at 2:35:35 in the video. Thank fucking god he made it out of that!
Same thing that brought me here
Oh yeah
That roar is something else. You can't describe it, you have to hear it for yourself. My family lives around Dallas/Ft. Worth and just a couple years ago our home was missed by the skin of its teeth. I HEARD that roar.
I don't think it had fully touched down yet, thank GOD, because I was following the rotation on RadarScope on my phone while hunkered in a bathroom with my elderly parents and it went right over us. The roar was deafening, and I seriously thought the roof was about to come off over our heads. My parents told me they knew how serious it was in the moment solely because of how scared _I_ was, because that never happens. I stay calm.
For some context, my sister and I have always been amateur weather nuts so we know how to read radars, velocity signatures, correlation coefficients, etc. In the last few years my sister has taken it even further by becoming SkyWarn and Spotter Network certified, reading meteorology textbooks online _for fun,_ and storm chasing as a photographer (ALWAYS ALWAYS from a safe distance!). Now she's even considering getting EMT certified so she can help any communities that may get hit while she's out chasing. I admire her for it, really.
The only thing keeping her from becoming a meteorologist is all the math that's required for forecasting since she's severely dyslexic with numbers, unfortunately.
I'm hoping I'll be able to join her on one of her chases next season as the driver so she can safely shoot photos out the window.
@@kriscynicalI've only been in an EF1 tornado (street signs and tree branches etc) but the roar of it is seriously surreal. It's like standing beside a freight train. The wind before the train gets close sending sheets of rain horizontally across the gas station wall next to your house. Leaves and stuff mixed in. You're in the most interior room of your house and on top of the freight train it sounds like every door is flinging open and closed back and forth. I peeked down the hallway halfway through (like an idiot) and they were still closed.
One of the craziest things you can experience tbh
I passed through Hackleburg, AL a couple years later. Something seemed odd about the town. Then I realized there were almost no trees. Then I remembered what happened to Hackleburg on this day. It was a very sobering reminder.
James Spann, my hero! A man who survived, thanks James on camera for saving his life, in a documentary. James is humble and the man was like, 'no seriously, you saved our lives.'
And he hugs James who then gets choked up. Beautiful moment. Great man.
ruclips.net/video/OPzUdKuZHpc/видео.htmlsi=Lib8OftXaHmcQfmN
22:30
The moment OP is talking about ❤❤
As a alabamian who lived here my whole life. When James has the suspenders out, you know it's going to be a rough day
Wow. 2:35:37 gives me the chills just hearing him say that!
Isaiah Montgomery me too. I remember this day. I was 7. Tornado sirens going off every 5 minutes for Calhoun, we were so lucky. We were in between Talladega and Calhoun. So sad
I'm only about a half hour into it, and I've already gotten the chills from Spann declaring a tornado emergency and talking about the multiple vortices. Like I said elsewhere, he doesn't sugar coat things, and he doesn't resort to histrionics, either, but at the same time, you can sense the urgency in his voice.
@@storyofcory what got me was when he was speaking to the mayor of Tuscaloosa after the tornado hit and briefly became emotional. You could really tell in that moment just how much he loves his state and the people in it. I wish we had him here in Ohio.
I remember listening to him say that live on the radio and it gave me chills. I will always remember everything I did that day before our lives changed forever.
Oh yeah this was scary
3:18:02 "constant roar" that description still scares me and its approaching 5 years since this day.
What impresses me is that these guys know the major routes, they know the roads, they know the communities, they know landmarks that aren't there any more, it's just amazing.
Thank you, ABC 33/40, for preserving this coverage in its entirety. For those in the broadcast industry, this is pure gold in the sense of informing the public and trying to keep those in Alabama safe that day, and exactly what the public airwaves are intended for. James Spann is excellent at what he does, and the state is absolutely lucky and fortunate to have him. Would love to meet him someday and talk about the business.
Props to Jason Simpson as well. Can't forget him!
While you are at it, there are quite a few videos of the killer tornadoes in north Alabama. one was an incredible view of the historic phil Campbell tornado bearing down on a prison. you can't resIST
the ROAR! tHEN YOU HAVE THE Vicious Rainsville tornado that quietly killed more than 25 people Then you have video shot from the top of a mountain. Such an eerie angle.
Except it is not in its entirety. There are sections missing
@@TheJingles007 Someone managed to get ALL complete sections. Looks it up! Quality may be poor, but for 2011, the quality was standard back then.
I love James Spann, and I live in the upper midwest, fer pete's sake. He doesn't sugar coat things, but at the same tiime, he doesn't resort to histrionics, either. He's very level-headed; very matter-of-fact.
Mr.Spann and his friends saved a ton of lives that day. He's also a guy with a huge heart. He's a HAM radio operator, and my dad was a weather spotter that trained through Mr.Spann's outreach to the HAm Radio operator community. Back in 1996,my dad and little brother were struck by a drunk driver,and when the wreck came across the spotter, James recognized my dad's call sign and when my dad got home from the hospital, he called my dad and talked to him and prayed with him. My dad talked about that for the rest of his life. We lost my dad to Renal Cell Carcanoma brought on by Agent Orange Exposure last year,and I'll never be able to thank him enough for making one of my dad's fondest memories.
@@proud2bpagan Rest in peace Mr. Pagan's dad. Made me tear up.
@@Chironex_Fleckeri thank you so very much. I truly appreciate your condolences. It means the world to me and my family. Those who live on in our hearts never truly die. Peace be with your journey, my friend. Stay safe,and stay healthy. #stayingalonetogether
That year was absolutely terrifying. We were living in Fayetteville, Tennessee at the time. We had never experienced anything like that. My husband had been sent to Huntsville, Alabama for his job with Boeing. We lived just north of Huntsville, in Fayetteville, TN on 111 Acres. We had been through so many hurricanes in our life time and have never been as terrified as we were that year. The
2011 tornado breakout scared us in a way we had never experienced before. We spent hours listening to the tornado sirens blaring as we watched the devastation unfolding on the news. Within 24 hours, 7 different tornadoes touched down within 1 mile of our home causing massive damage, taking many lives.
We found tons of things the wind had brought and dumped throughout our property ( even a boat ).
We continued to find things every time we'd go out riding our horses, four-wheelers, or a family time hike exploring our 111 Acres. Our mostly wooded property had artifacts scattered about. We found a baby album near a lake on our land, nearly unscathed by the storm that carried it. I worked diligently to find the family that the baby album belonged to ( being parents we knew how priceless these things are) 6 months after finding the baby book, we finally located the family the book belonged to. They lived more than 9 hours south west of us in Joplin, Missouri!
This book, full of photos, stories and random items such as, a lock of hair from the baby's first haircut and baby teeth had traveled over 600 miles, more than a 9 hour car drive away! Finding it in such great condition, unscathed by the wind and water that brought it to our land was unbelievable! It took six months to find the family, because I was only posting ads about the book with mostly local media stations and social media outlets within an hour of our home, I never thought it could have been from so far away. A random Facebook community group post was responsible for finally connecting us to the family.
We agreed to meet the family in the middle to return it first hand. After losing everything in the storm, they did not want to risk it getting lost in shipping, it was officially the only memorabilia they had left. Even after losing everything, they were so grateful to have found this priceless album. The story made many local news outlets. I will always be thankful we were able to find the book and the family that lost it. The sheer joy on their faces as we handed them the priceless baby album. These were the only photos left of the young family, after that terrible day.
Still alot of visible evidence of this outbreak to this day
I aspire to be a Meteorologist like James Spann. This man is legendary and as tragic as this event was, he was on point the whole time. He is a hero of our time. Although there still was a lot of fatalities during this outbreak, he still saved thousands of lives. He has made people want to pay more attention to severe weather during his time. He is Alabama's meteorologist. You see him in his suspenders, you know it's serious.
With the strength and number of these tornadoes, some fatalities were pretty much guaranteed even with the best warning. Especially in Cordova, you would've had to pretty much fully evacuate the town be completely safe. 🙁 But yes, he's done an excellent job not just with his coverage but also from the educational aspect, going to schools to teach kids about weather safety and changing the very mindset of people in the south to be more weather aware and safe. I wish we had a meteorologist like him where I live.
These gentlemen were/are heroes. What an incredible job during horrifically stressful times. James Spann, your knowledge blows my mind.
James Spann did an amazing job warning citizens that day.
mws755+ the reason he called it a "killer tornado" was because the tornado, at that point, had already caused at least one fatality.
Yes he did. I'm from ttown, but I was in bham for school when this happened. I had no idea what was going on until I switched the TV to James and heard him say, "if you're in downtown bham and you see debris...that is coming from tuscaloosa! Get in a safe place!" I looked out my dorm window and a huge piece of debris floating in the air like paper and I ran to safety. So scary that day.
jaredwood111 yes he and Jason were amazing keeping us prepared and not creating fear, they kept their cool. Amazing job by all!
They were very brave
I remeber my family was huddled around the tv watching this and the moment he said our county the power went out, and what sounded like a train started heading our way. thankfully the radio feed never cut out until the tornado could be seen. this event sealed James Spann as the legend of ABC
James Spann is an Alabama treasure. The man and his team have saved thousands of lives.
This team is incredible. I can't believe how long they broadcast without a pause. This is incredible.
The horizontal suction vortices on such a small Cullman tornado is scary.
24:40 is the last thing we saw before our power went out. I lived in Good Hope at the time and our power remained out for a week after that. Thankfully, we didn't have any damage to our home, but a large portion of Cullman County was completely obliterated.
I still love to watch this. Spann is so good.
The public couldn't have asked for anyone more qualified and professional to keep them calm and well informed throughout this incredible event. James is the best.
Respect the polygon! THANK YOU for posting this!!
I've watched this whole thing several times now. Still stunning how bad that outbreak turned out to be. James Spann did an excellent job with his coverage, though... Alabama is lucky to have him.
Matt Chadbourne I remember watching the coverage live and thinking every storm on radar had a tornado. James and his staff did an amazing job keeping up with all the storms.
They helped save lives
Matt Chadbourne He is amazing. We had some storms come through Sunday and I watched him until things were calm. I’ve Ben praying for Mississippi and those in Alabama and Georgia that we’re hit this Sunday. 😔
Agree! Watch the 14+ min Tuscaloosa tornado video with James and Jason on that horrific day. Honestly I don’t know how they were able to hold their composure. It was certainly a horrific day for us!
I’m from Huntsville and we all knew about James Spann in Huntsville, he’s probably the BEST meteorologist ever!!! And Jason ended up working in Huntsville and personally serving us.
When our meteorologists say this is going to be a big deal, and take shelter or get underground if you can, we LISTEN to them.
What???? I thought it was 8 minutes and 13 seconds. Watched for like 4 hours.
Intense situation lol
I guess that's what you get for thinking, huh? 😆
SAME except I didn't watch for 4 hours I am 8:45 in when i saw this comment xD
wtf
😂😂😂
I try and watch this at least once a year. Been doing it since I got into weather in 2020. I watch it to remember those that lost everything and more. James Spann is one of if not the best TV meteorologists, saved countless lives that day.
Can't believe it's been 6 years since this happened, and I remember this day every year
Stephanie Baird How could you forget. It will definitely go down in history as one of the worst tornado outbreaks. I think there were 3 EF5s just on the 27th alone. Astonishing. All of those ingredients coming together in spades. I can't image how it must have felt to be a meteorologist on the days before it started looking at the reports and knowing how bad things were going to be. All the conditions were perfect for strong long track tornados..knowing people have become desensitized to weather warnings, but knowing this time it was different. Most people can't be convinced until it's too late. Like for me, when bad weather is around I stay glued to weather reports, but I'm also actually interested in it. Most people aren't. They react to weather rather than anticipating it. In situations like what happened that day, you can't afford not to anticipate it.
12 now...
My family and I were hit directly in Tuscaloosa. We were buried under debri and actually lost several neighbors. But James Spann literally saved our lives. Forever indebted. Thank you 🙏🏾 our hometown hero
I’m glad your ok. And I’m glad that your family survived. I was attending collage in Georgia at that time but I’m from Tuscaloosa myself and lost family. James Spann is why the rest survived though and I am also forever indebted because I could’ve lost everyone
when james spann pulls up his sleeves you know shit is gonna get real
If he has his shirt of..... run
i dont see where he rolled up his sleeves? they're rolled down the entire video.
man, 5 years later, my life was changed forever, damn.
Same. It was a very historic outbreak. Will never forget it. Made me absolutely terrified of bad weather now. I shake when we have a severe weather watch/warning :|
I totally agree! #PrattCity
I Live In Alabama And Your Power Was Out For Over 7 To 8 Days And Still To This Day I Don't Like It When Storms Come In.
yea same here I'm from Hackleburg
it will not happen in such a way again... the person responsible made a mistake :( +skankhunt42
This guy is a legend. He probably won’t admit it but he saved many lives that day. He has my respect and gratitude 🙏
My hat goes off to James Spann for spectacular coverage of this historic event. This man was on air for 8 hours straight with little to no breaks and just kept moving along.
I have watched this man for over 25 years. There is no one else like him. During severe weather, I refuse to watch anyone but James. He really is a gift. My son is the same way now. he grew up with James, so whenever there is severe weather, he'll ask what James has to say. My whole family appreciates this man.
What an excellent reporter. I don't even live in Alabama, but being from Dixie Alley there's something about these extended storm coverage events that I find so nostalgic and comforting. I love hearing these weather reports.
38:16 - Mention of Ch. 52 tower in Cullman.
38:29 - Tower falls as the tornado rips through downtown Cullman
6nññññuûy
EVERY meteorologist who interacts with the public should strive to do their job the way Mr. Spann does. I hope the next generation does as great a job walking in his footsteps.
Spann handled this like a pro.
Ive scanned thru this video many times due to my fascination with tornadoes ...it's probably one of the best live news coverage that ive seen. The weather men in that station prob saved many of lives that day...amazing. Sad but amazing.
I still to this day in 2022 watch this all the time. James is my hero for many reasons!! Jason is also incredible.
Even though some 250 people were killed in this outbreak, James Spann's reporting during the April 27th, 2011 tornado outbreak likely saved dozens, if not hundreds, of other lives.
It was the "finest hour" (not just Spann's station, but all of the Birmingham news stations) in the history of Alabama television.
over 300 died in this outbreak.
@@morgangrey4020 I believe he meant just in Alabama that day
@@morgangrey4020 Spann could only do so much. His job is to report whats going on and tell people to take cover. He can't force people to take cover and he can't help if people are being weather aware of whats going on.
James Spann did a good job of covering the afternoon tornadoes and should be celebrated but the fact is that millions of people did not have power by the time those storms rolled through the state in the afternoon due to the line of tornado producing storms that struck in the morning. This narrative that people purposefully ignore tornado watches and warnings was debunked decades ago and it needs to die again.
I was in 2nd grade when this happened. I live in Hartselle, AL. I remember being in school until 5:45. The outbreak sparked my interest in tornadoes. Now I'm focusing on going to the University of Oklahoma.
Dakota Stewart finally someone near my age is interested in weather
Dude I love Hartselle. I'm from Bham but I once played in a band at that huge park in your town! It's a beautiful place.
Dakota Stewart.
Wishing you all of the best of luck in your future meteorological studies at the University of Oklahoma and perhaps someday you can be a meteorological hero like James Spann. And,you can be standing there beside James forecasting these tornadoes 🌪 someday and you too can be a hero,like him.
Dakota Stewart
2:02:19
5:58:05
6:01:38
6:10:14
6:25:34
7:10:40
Man I don't think anyone was ready for what numbers where coming out of this outbreak
Did you watch the whole thing?
we must all agree that james was a gift from god. 18 HOURSSSSSSS :O
8 hours you fucking dipshit.
HgRoller he also did the coverage in the morning starting at around 3:30 am-9:00 am, he might have had some time to rest before this second grouping, I’m not sure if he was on between.
It is very possible he was at work for 18+ hours straight but he was definitely on air for 13 of that
HgRoller hey dumbass he did a morning one too. Dipshit
Bullet - Playss ikr what an asshole
The Bullet Bullet wonder if he’ll apologise and be a good person.
Naaahhh.
I had a tornado almost hit us the other day, but god I can't imagine having to deal with something as bad as this. All respect goes to the victims and survivors.
One of the tornadoes went right behind my grandparents home and luckily missed them. The most amazing part of it all to me is that there was little bits of debris scattered in their yard and I went out and picked it up and found a baseball card that was almost perfectly fine, one of the corners was bent a little and it had a few small little scratches on it but I have always found it amazing how tornadoes can cause such awful destruction and also leave whole houses unscathed, or pick up a baseball card and hardly mess it up
I keep coming back to this video, year after year, just to watch Mr. Spann and Jason. Such a historic event that changed peoples lives forever!!
I am amazed at Jason's professionalism his family and friends houses were being hit he is able to deliver the news clearly and accurately and give correct information
I’ve watched this coverage 1000x and still get chills every time!!
April 27, 2011 was a high risk day that made not April 2011 but 2011 itself history as the 2011 Super Outbreak, surpassing the '74 Super Outbreak with many tornadoes in a single month of 700+ confirmed, with April 27th being most prolific with over 200+ tornadoes that day (62 tornadoes in Alabama & others in several states).. RIP to those who lost their lives in this challenging severe weather outbreak
Did you forget the historical May 2003 Tornado Outbreak? Its known as the "Extended Tornado Outbreak of 2003" it was 15 Day Sequence of Tornadoes.
Absolutely right Deion. That month was just one nightmare storm after another over a huge part of the country.
@@Tornado1994 But even then, it had fewer tornadoes compared to April 27th itself. May 2019 also had a historic Outbreak Sequence, but around half of the tornadoes on the entire sequence compared to just April 27th.
@@iceresistance May 2003 outbreak had the same* number of tornadoes as the 2011 super outbreak (363 vs 367). However, the 2011 had 50% more significant tornadoes and only spanned eight days as opposed to 2003's nine days.
This day changed my life forever!! Hackleburg was where I grew up and went too school and I didn't even recognize it I didn't think there was anyway anyone could have survived. I could have easily been in the Hackleburg EF5 but wasnt I was about 7 miles away in Hodges and at 4:20pm an EF3 tornado hit my house it was the same tornado that hit Smithville MS as an EF5. Scariest day of my life
So sorry you had to go through that. God be with you.
James Spann did not spare the seriousness of these tornadoes, yet broadcasted with coolheadedness, heart, and accuracy. He's a gem of the meteorology science world!
No doubt about it! I watched the coverage of the Joplin tornado and they lost their cool, it seemed like chaos on air. Spann is the best of the best.
Yeah, his comment during the early AM footage where he tells parents worried about getting their kids ready for school to not worry about their principal, and if they (the principals) say anything, to have them call him (Spann).
A moment of levity in a day that went well beyond a "particularly dangerous situation"...
Wow. Compare the amount of warning time that we have today as compared to, say, April 3, 1974 -- think about THIS system sweeping through with zero warning, and the amount of lives that could have been lost. I went through a F4 tornado in the Cincinnati area in April 1999. Before then, I didn't really take these things all that seriously. Now? I take them VERY seriously. I'll NEVER forget that sound. Absolutely terrifying.
Duneedon I remember that one in Blue Ash. Also, the March 2, 2012 outbreak that passed 15 miles south of my then home in Florence (EF4 in Crittenden/Piner). When they issued a tornado emergency that included Boone County I ran for the basement. And I’m a weather nerd.
But somehow 1974 killed far less people
Drove through parts of Joplin Missouri a few years ago including ground zero for the 2011 tornado. What was stunning was encountering trees that had completely stripped by the tornado.
Outstanding coverage by this TV station. Props go out to them and all the stations who spent countless hours covering this outbreak.
I live near Huntsville, AL, and I was in the 6th grade at the time. I remember my only reason for not going to school that day was that my sister had gotten sick and had to go to the doctor. Now, I'm a freshman at the University of Alabama [yes, this guy is still on the news down here]. You know shit just got serious when James Spann's sleeves are rolled up like that.
americanpatriot
americanpatriot
And don't forget when the suspenders are out.
Up here in Dayton Ohio, we had a tornado emergency and the lead meteorologist broke down in tears. I could not imagine her doing something like this for hours on end. I think it lasted about 90 mins from the start of the tornadoes to the end and she was falling apart, live on the air. The meteorologist down there are incredible.
@Lauren Box you make it through ok with no property damage or anything like that? 🙂
@Lauren Box sorry about that..😞 but everyone being ok is ALL that matters! 🙂 that was the weirdest thing as I was literally just wondering how everything was going as far as your house/property did during that storm when I seen your response! But yeah, I am a weather nerd, watching t.v weather alerts everywhere in the country, usually years and years old lol. If I was just a little younger I would probably of attempted to become a meteorologist but just don't have the money or time. Lol but yeah, I talk a lot but anyways at least everyone was safe and thank God for that!
There was also a meteorologist almost cussing people out for thinking he was lying. I got married the night before that storm system. I'm from Cincinnati btw
I defy anyone not to feel some emotion in that situation. Especially if your family is anywhere near the path. In fact, Jason Simpson got a little emotional at one point in the morning coverage when a storm impacted his family in Holly Pond. The folks on TV are humans just like us… they’re just humans in a far more public role than the average Joe or Jane.
The day after this, I drove from Hoover to Decatur and could easily see the track of 6 different tornadoes crossing I65.
These guys and gals saved countless lives that day. Thanks.
I drove the next day from Shelby county back home to mountain Brook (Cahaba heights side) and driving up 280 it was like a different world. At least homes weren’t completely missing, but the damage was unreal. The entire landscape is different, with the amount of trees it took. You could smell it in the air.
I was 7 on this day, but I'll never forget sitting in my hallway all day and seeing that look on my mom and dad's faces that said something really horrible was happening
same here
God bless you and your parents.I am glad you made it through it.
I am still surprised that a movie wasn't made about this incredible event. It would have been called the REAL Perfect Storm. Chances are ,we will never see any Thing Close to this again.
I just turned four on the 25th, while we never took a direct hit, the Centreville-Brent EF-3 went straight for us in Alabaster. Even though it lifted, the halfway down funnel went directly over us. The amount of debris dropped was very disheartening. With the last out break we had last year, we had one nail Montevallo. I do remember (I am a junior at montevallo fire) the chief sent a text to everyone to be prepared to directly respond last year. Hopefully this season is better than the last 3!
Cullman: 23:40
Tuscaloosa: 2:28:00
Birmingham: 3:19:00
Cullman was a seperate Tornado! Tuscaloosa and Birmingham were basically the same funnel! Very long lasting! There was a few that day!
@@hangalf I was referring to the times at which each town was affected.
This is the pinnacle of meteorological journalism
I was on the road to Florida for a choir trip when I got a text from my mother that Tuscaloosa and Birmingham were in the path of these tornadoes and that they couldn’t reach my uncle (mother’s younger brother) who lives in Birmingham and works in Tuscaloosa as the University of Alabama’s attorney. We didn’t hear anything from him until the next morning when he traveled back to Mobile, AL (my hometown and current town) and stopped at a gas station to use a pay phone because the cell service was out. He actually got out of Tuscaloosa before the tornado hit and got his wife and kids out of Birmingham before another one hit.
I highly respect James Spann and look up to him. As a former student of meteorology, I can say without a doubt that his dedication, despite him being tired from streaming for 14 hrs, AND getting a text from his wife during the broadcast that she was in the basement and their house was being hit and managed to text a “I love you” to him, is what a true meteorologist is. He truly indeed saved many lives that day, probably including my uncle.
I’m from cullman.. I saw a body for the first time this day, we lost our gym, power out for over a week . I was 12. So sad
This is the reason I have to take anxiety meds every time it storms
i live in wisconsin , and i cant say i know a better weatherman anywhere ! hes a walking book of knowledge , he truthfuly loves and cares about people and pours out his heart to save lives and warn people of immenent dangers they may be facing !
he has a photographic memory of roads , places , landmarks , times, dates and everything else that is important ! i watch his videos over and over ! he will never be forgotten ! he can never be replaced , he is the one and only and everyone else is the immatation !
At 2:35:36, James says "All you can do is pray for those people". On the 10th anniversary of this last April, he wrote a book with his quotation entitled "All you can do is pray".