by Lorra Lynch Jones, 13WMAZ.com
- The "Mother's Day Storms" swept through central Georgia five years ago this weekend.
- 13WMAZ's Lorra Lynch Jones spoke with kids at FPD about that day and how they saw it unfold.
-The buildings and the landscape healed, but in some children's minds, the tornadoes left an indelible mark.
This weekend, it will have been five years since the "Mother's Day Storms" swept through Central Georgia.
Many people recall the physical damage they left behind, but there was a psychologicalcomponent, too.
Since those storms, 13WMAZ has heard from both parents and children, who say those particular storms left a permanent scar.
Those storms crashed into Bibb County, bringing a line of tornadoes to the midstate in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Some 7th graders at First Presbyterian Day School in Macon -- who were just 3rd graders in 2008 -- talked about how they saw that day through their eyes.
Emmie Cate Powell said, "I just remember crying. I didn't think of anything else but crying."
Sara Parker Ware recalled taking cover from the storms.
She said, "I remember hiding in my mom's closet. It was me, my sister, my brother and my dog."
The darkness added an extra layer of terror, as thunder jolted families from their sleep.
Michael Bakkar said, "The rain was hitting our house so hard. It sounded like a waterfall in the walls."
Bakkar's family lives on Lake Tobesofkee across from Sandy Beach, which bore the brunt of those storms.
"We have like tile roofs, and they were like thrown off into the neighbor's houses like machetes,"Bakkar said.
Some of the teens recalled the way those storms marched into Central Georgia and the colors on the radar screen as broadcasters issued their warnings.
Powell said, "I remember the words, 'Take shelter immediately.' I was scared to death."
Olsen Kate Jones said, "We were watching my dad. He's like, 'Take cover.'"
Her "dad," by the way, is 13WMAZ'S Ben Jones.
She said, "I think I called him. I was like, 'Where is it? Is it going to hit us?' I thought the tornado was going to hit our house, crush our house and everything we had."
Daylight ended the nightmare, but revealed the weather's power to destroy.
For many children, it was their first look at Mother Nature's fury.
Ware said, "I saw a lot of homes destroyed, and they were talking about how things had been thrown everywhere."
The buildings and the landscape healed, but in some children's minds, the tornadoes left an indelible mark.
Powell said, "That's what's become my main fear of tornadoes."
Wimberly Thigpen said, "I still get really scared, even if it's a really small storm."
They said five years' passage relaxed some of the anxiety. Education about weather calmed a bit of the fear.
Bakkar said, "I respect what it can do."
That experience taught them that with severe weather, there's always the unknown.
Jones said, "Everytime there's a bad storm, I'll pray: 'Please don't let it hit our house.'"