ON THIS DATE IN 1975: An F4 tornado tore through parts of the city of Tuscaloosa, killing one person. It first touched down in the Taylorville community and then skipped northeastward before hitting the Skyland Park area and moving on to McFarland Blvd near the intersection of I-59/20. It went on to affect parts of the Alberta City and Holt. The official path length was 14.4 miles.
Along it, 289 homes were destroyed or heavily damaged, along with 20 businesses and 21 mobile homes. The tornado nearly destroyed the new Scottish Inn motel on I-59 at McFarland. The fatality was a 23 year old housekeeper named Thelma Hill, killed when most of the second floor of the motel was sheared away by the tornado causing a wall to fall on her.
On a personal note, this was my closest encounter with a tornado. I was on the air, working the Noon-6pm shift that Sunday afternoon at WTBC Radio on 15th Street. I received the tornado warning via a Civil Defense radio, and read it on the air. Then, I played "Lightning Strikes" by Lou Christie, and the power went out. I walked outside, and while I couldn't see the tornado due to trees and rain, I sure heard it. A noise you never forget; it passed about one mile to the east.