Clyndene and Shelton Jackson were trapped, after the tornado peeled back the roof of their Sandflat home. Once the stormed passed the couple safely left the house and called for help.

After surviving a category three tornado Wednesday, Nov. 24, she said her small community of Chilton seemed to be upside down and inside out.

“We had no warning. I had watched the weather on a Mobile channel the night before and nothing was predicted. I had no idea to expect anything,” she said.

Above - John Jones’ barn was destroyed and a hardwood tree splintered when it was struck by the tornado. Roberts recalled losing electric service at about 4:30 a.m.

“I got out of bed to call the power company, because if you don’t report an outage in Chilton pretty soon it could take a long time for power to be restored,” she explained.

“I could hear the rain pounding outside and a roar that sounded like a jet plane.”

She said the sound was unmistakable.

Left - This deer mount peers skyward. It was among the debris found around the demolished trailer of Jeremy Henson. “I knew it had to be a tornado because the sound kept getting louder the closer it came.”

By the time Roberts found a place of shelter within her home, about 30 seconds, the tornado had passed.

The roof of her home is damaged significantly, as well as the walls, which she describes as “bowed.” Her carport fell flat and crushed her car parked inside.

“I thank God that we didn’t lose anyone. Things look bad, but it could have been a lot worse,” she said.

Left - All that was left of Jeremy Henson’s trailer after the tornado was debris and tree tops. The tornado was reportedly a category 3 in strength.

Above - Jody James’ trailer was not completely detroyed, but was damaged extensively. Left - Many places along Highway 154 in Chilton are patches of “matchstick” trees, topped and splintered from the tornado.