What Stands in a Storm

Kim Cross’s environmental nonfiction, What Stands in a Storm: Three Days in the Worst Superstorm to Hit the South’s Tornado Alley (2015), is an account of the deadliest superstorm in US history that swept across the country in April 2011. The book won the 2017 Alabama Author Award for Nonfiction and was nominated for various other accolades. Cross is a multi-award-winning feature writer who lives in Alabama, where she has experienced numerous tornadoes. Her work has featured in popular newspapers including The Tampa Bay Times and The Birmingham News.

Cross covers the flurry of tornadoes responsible for killing 348 people across twenty-one US states over a period of three days. This was not just the worst superstorm in US history, but the largest recorded tornado outbreak in history. As described in the book, the storm caused more than $11 billion in damage, and the affected communities are still recovering to this day. Cross’s message, however, is quite clear—although tragedy rips us apart, it also brings us together.

A mixture of eyewitness accounts and storytelling, the book is divided into three parts. Some of these accounts are of survivors, and others involve the stories of those who died during the storm. The narrative covers the full timeline of the storm from its inception to the aftermath. The stories are from interviews with the ordinary Americans who came together to rebuild their communities and the loved ones who were left behind. Although most of the deaths occur in Alabama, tragedies unfolded in every affected state. On numerous occasions, there were at least six tornadoes on the ground simultaneously. However, these are some of the few statistics included in the book. Cross wants readers to focus less on science and hard facts, and more on the realities of living through EF4 and EF5 tornadoes. The book is not designed to appeal to scientists or researchers, but to the average reader who wants to know more about this tragedy and the real families involved.



Cross spent a year researching and writing What Stands in a Storm. Her goal was to put human faces to the anonymity of the destruction, and to help us understand what it was like to live through that period. The book was also a comfort to the survivors, helping them work through their memories of the events.

Part 1, “The Storm,” opens on April 27, 2011, in the middle of the afternoon, covering the period between the supercell developing and the final tornado touching down. By the time the storm is over, 349 tornadoes had touched down across Tornado Alley. No one, however, realized at the time how deadly this storm was. Cross tells the story of James Spann, a meteorologist who stayed on the air for hours to keep the public updated, even though his own life was at risk in the studio. She also covers a story in Smithville, Mississippi, where a pastor and a small congregation survived by taking shelter in the church.

In Part 2, “The Aftermath,” Cross looks at the immediate aftermath of the storm. There are stories of eerie silences, lingering fear, and exhaustion, as families searched for lost loved ones. Cross uses real social media posts, text messages, and call transcripts from those struggling to make contact, and the people attempting to tell their relatives that they are safe. Chelsea Trash, paralyzed in her boyfriend’s driveway, told her parents she was safe because she didn’t want them to worry that she couldn’t move her legs. Eventually, she was taken to the hospital thanks to the quick thinking of compassionate neighbors who heard her struggling. Chelsea was not the only one in this position—the tornadoes picked up and dropped numerous people, many of whom would not survive.
Part 3, “The Recovery,” follows the rescue efforts made by emergency services and the attempts to rebuild communities all but obliterated by the storm. People were eager to do what they could to help, even if they had little to offer. From digging for lost people to salvaging what was left of homes and possessions, everyone came together to start the healing process.



Some of the stories shared are from people who watched the storm unfolding in nearby states, not expecting the tornadoes to affect them. These same people later found possessions in their own backyards belonging to people two or three counties over. Bringing their stories together emphasizes how widespread and apocalyptic this storm was for so many communities.

Cross also introduces people who didn’t realize how serious the storm was until it was too late. Many communities were used to tornadoes and storm warnings, and not everyone took the warnings seriously. Some of these people were lucky, others sadly not. These stories are woven throughout the book to make a cohesive narrative. What Stands in a Storm aims to make readers appreciate what they have, and to always take storm warnings seriously.