Two veteran county officials who have had plenty of experience with tornadoes safely rode out the Chattanooga Tornado of 2020.
County Clerk Bill Knowles had little damage at his home on N. Concord Road, though some houses not far away were heavily damaged.
Mr. Knowles said a tree went down and his familiar flag pole that proudly displays the American flag was reduced to a three-foot splinter by the raging wind.
He said he and his wife, Marlene, had been watching news of the storm, but went to bed believing that the worst had past. However, he said he then received a call from a grandson, who shouted, "Granddaddy get to safety!"
It was near his current brick home that the "tornado era" may have begun in Chattanooga. A twister took down a tree and ripped a shingle off his East Brainerd home, then it went over a hill and did heavy damage to several residences. Later, County Mayor Claude Ramsey toured the site with the governor.
Mr. Knowles said it was a big surprise to have a tornado strike Chattanooga. He said, "When I was growing up we were always told that a tornado would not hit here because of all the hills and mountains."
Then the Knowles couple was in the same house when the deadly tornadoes of 2011 roared past - doing the most mayhem in Ringgold and in Apison.
Trustee Bill Hullander was living on London Lane at the longtime family farm in Apison when that tornado struck. His own home was not heavily damaged, but some of his neighbors and kinfolk lost their lives. He later led in the installation of a monument in their memory.
Mr. Hullander said Sunday night several of his neighbors came over to shelter in his stout basement. Fortunately, there was not damage on the Hullander farm this time.
His son, Matt Hullander, had built a house nearby since the 2011 tornado and it includes a storm shelter. His family made use of this fortress as winds from the fierce storm passed by.