Cottonwood braces for severe weather after last year's deadly tornado
DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — With the town of Cottonwood still dealing with the effects of a deadly tornado that swept through the area, residents are using last year's experience to help better prepare for the incoming round of severe weather.
The Wiregrass is under a severe weather threat heading into the weekend, and for Cottonwood resident Janet McCardle, this latest round of severe weather has her anxious that her community could experience another major weather event.
'When you open your front door, the whole inside was sucked out of that house over there and the trees were gone,' said McCardle.
State of emergency declared in Alabama ahead of dangerous weekend storms
In January 2024, an EF-2 tornado ripped through the small wiregrass town, nearly destroying the downtown area and leaving one woman dead.
Since then the town and all of its residents have continued its long road to recovery, attempting to rebuild what was lost, which included multiple homes, the senior center, and the fire department.
After experiencing such devastation first-hand, McCardle says she is now taking pre-preparations more seriously.
'I have an interior hallway in my home, and that's where I'm fixing to place me and my mother. We will have a chair, helmets, blankets in there in the hallway; along with my weather radio and some flashlights if we need a place to go,'
High probability of tornados in the Wiregrass Saturday night
McCardle says that she was one of the lucky few, that didn't have an extreme amount of damage done to her home.
With just a few trees ripped from the ground, but after seeing what last year's tornado did to her community, she says she will always strive to be ready for the worst–if the time comes.
'I'm taking it more seriously now. You just can't not be too careful…It's something that once you live through it, yes, you're going to take it seriously every time it comes around again.'
According to McCardle, her son lives in a trailer but is moving his entire family into a nearby relative's home and she advices anyone in the same living situation to do the same.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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