Throughout the month of May, WMAZ is ‘rewinding the clock’ and looking back at some of the biggest weather events in Central Georgia over the last 20 years.
This week, Chief Meteorologist Ben Jones is taking it back to Mother's Day 2008 when tornadoes hit Central Georgia.
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The morning of May 11, 2008, many Central Georgians awoke to the sound of thunder and lightning.
It was Mother's Day, but instead of celebrating, many people spent the day surveying the damage of a deadly storm system.
"When I got up to look and went outside, it was dark and it did sound like a train coming through," said Stephens Automotive owner, Freddie Stephens.
He remembers that day well.
"I told my wife, 'Man that thing is headed straight for my shop,'" he said.
Stephens' nephew called to tell him his business had taken a hard hit.
"He called me up and said, 'Hey Unc, the whole front of your building is lying on the ground.' I said, 'Are you kidding me?' He said no," Stephens said. "The building was open, and it was like it just created a vacuum, it sucked the whole exterior wall down on the ground."
But inside his shop?
"All of the items that were on the shelves and the wall were still intact. It's just unbelievable what Mother Nature can do," Stephens said.
"It was crazy, because what it was doing was bouncing," said Lake Tobesofkee homeowner, David Mitchell.
Mitchell says looking at the damage near his home, the tornado's sporadic path was evident.
"When it touched back the second time, it literally was at the Pineworth by the Lake sign, it just wiped that house slam out," he said.
Mitchell watched neighbors around the lake as they tried to assess the damage.
"When it touched down over here, it literally went over Ricky's house. He had to get a bulldozer to get the trees out of the road so he could get to his house so he could check on his kids," he said.
While houses were hit on one side of the lake, campers in RVs and tents on the opposite side had to run for cover.
"Of course everybody is shook up, it was unexpected, the storm of course. I think we'll all survive," said a camper.
Miraculously, they all survived.
Mitchell pointed out the concrete bathhouse that served as a storm shelter.
"Everybody bolted and ran," he said.
Both Mitchell and Stephens are still in awe of just how powerful the Mother's Day tornado was and the devastating mark it left on their community.
PHOTOS: A look back at the 2008 Mother's Day tornado in Bibb Co.
"That's some of the craziest things I've been through," Mitchell said.
"It's just unbelievable what Mother Nature can do. It's just you know, you can't explain it," Stephens said.