It’s difficult to realize, but today is the 25th anniversary of the tornado that struck Owensboro, Kentucky, on January 3, 2000. I can still clearly recall that F3 tornado as if it had just happened, even though it was a quarter of a century ago.
What Was It Like 25 Years Ago?
That year, Monday, January 3rd, was a holiday at WBKR radio since New Year’s Day fell on a Saturday. Early that morning, I had put in a few hours of labor. We were owned by Brill Media at the time, and our news department, which employed four people, produced weather and news for WBKR-FM, Hot 96, WOMI-Owensboro, and WVJS-AM. That morning, after working and recording a couple newscasts, I went outside to take advantage of the unusually pleasant winter weather. It was, to use an understatement, unseasonably warm.
80 Degrees – in January – in Owensboro
On that particular day, temperatures in the tri-state area were close to 80 degrees. It was dangerously heated, but it was beautiful. Although we were aware that a cold front would pass through our region later that day, we were unaware of the specific consequences that the front would bring.
I lay down to take a long snooze that afternoon. The sounds of Owensboro’s emergency warning sirens interrupted that snooze. We were under a tornado warning, so sirens were blaring across Daviess County and Owensboro. I got out of bed instinctively and went straight to the radio station. It was less than two kilometers from where I lived. I was aware that I had to be there if there was going to be a storm. I arrived right on schedule.
I Pulled Into WBKR with Minutes to Spare
The west side of the city was in a state of chaos when I got into the parking lot. I arrived at the station just a few minutes before the tornado tore through the heart of town and across the grounds of Kentucky Wesleyan College, although I was unaware of this at the time. Bill Eidson, one of my coworkers, showed up a few minutes after me. Before that F3 made its debut public, he was unable to enter. As the fierce winds whipped past the station and carried his vehicle from the parking lot into the landscaping, Bill hunkered down in his vehicle.
Wayne Hart Circa 2000
Thanks to our longtime weather partner Wayne Hart’s knowledgeable coverage, we were aware that the tornado was headed toward Owensboro before the twister hit. Wayne’s wall-to-wall broadcast from that day is still available online.
Take a look!
My REAL Intro to Radio
The days that followed were amazing, tragic, difficult, and mind-blowing. After two years of working in radio news, I had never encountered anything like this. I was streaming live from inside a house that had been toppled on its foundation the morning after the tornado struck. I found myself inside a house with tilted walls. It didn’t appear secure. Honestly, it wasn’t. But that interview with the homeowner was a story that had to be told.
My friend Leisa’s house was battered by that storm as well. There was a roof in her backyard. It wasn’t hers. A few years ago, she shared photos of her loss with us.
The Unpredictability of the Tornado
What made that whole situation so perplexing, in each affected neighborhood, was this- the random, unpredictable power of a tornado. I mentioned that house that had been knocked off its foundation. While the house seemed fractured and on the verge of collapse, there was inexplicably sturdy beauty just outside of it. The homeowner had, in the landscaping just outside the front door, a gazing ball sitting on a concrete pedestal. The gazing ball, which weighed maybe a pound or two tops, hadn’t budged. Those powerful winds- the ones that compromised the structural integrity of the house and basically leveled my friend Leisa’s- hadn’t even slightly moved that decorative ball.
It was a powerful reminder of nature’s fury and unpredictability. For me, despite spending days in the massive wreckage and snow that followed behind that storm, it’s my most enduring memory. You’ve heard the phrase “calm before the storm.” I learned in January of 2000 that there’s also calm after it.
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