Jackson marking first anniversary of tornado

Few Jackson residents will ever forget May 6, 2003, the night a tornado ripped a gash through the middle of town.

But at 7 p.m. Thursday at city hall, county, city and weather officials will outline the disaster in detail -- from the images of emerging storms on radar to the breathtaking moments following the tornado to the months of cleanup.

No one was killed or seriously injured from the twister that destroyed many homes and businesses and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service and KFVS-12 will be on hand to show the storm's progression. Emergency workers will explain how the camaradarie between various agencies and departments came to help. And civic leaders will discuss how the city was put back together again.

"We anticipate having a projector going with pictures and there's a possibility that we may have an audio tape playing of the dispatcher taking messages as it was coming through Jackson," said David Hitt, the county's emergency management coordinator.

The event will also serve as a means of tornado awareness.

"We saw some good action," said Rick Shanklin, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky. "We were fortunate to get the warning out well in advance and the injury count was extremely low. But what people do need to think about is, what would have happened if it occurred at a different time, like 3 a.m.?"

Shanklin said he highly recommends that everyone purchase a weather radio that can be set to sound an alarm if a warning is issued for a particular county.

"The two most important safety devices in a home are a smoke detector and a weather radio," he said.

The event is open to the public, and it will include an open forum period for questions and discussion.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635