Selmer residents recall EF3 tornado one year later
SELMER, Tenn. — One year after a devastating EF3 tornado struck West Tennessee, one community is still trying to get back to normal.
Monday we spoke to Selmer residents to hear their stories from the early hours of April 3, 2025.
Residents recall tornado encounter
“I went to the back door and my husband went to the front door, and the lights was flickering we felt the presence and then all of a sudden it just got quiet,” said Julie Patterson, a Selmer resident.
Elizabeth Duncan was asleep until her daughter ran room to room waking up everyone.
“When they said if you are in the facility of Duncan Tree Farm take cover now, she was responsible for getting everybody up,” Duncan said.
“The noise was so incredibly loud”
Vicky Goodrum, a Selmer resident, says 14 people were in their storm shelter when the tornado hit.
“There was 14 people in our storm shelter when it hit the noise was so incredibly loud, and if you think back at it, you think oh it’s taking forever, but it was probably 30 seconds, and then that quiet moment when that eye comes over you’re thinking okay it’s done then no here it comes again,” said Goodrum.
Chris Goodrum said the tornado demolished 14 acres of land.
“Well as you can see, there used to be trees all over this, Christmas trees in this section right here,” Goodrum said. “At the time of the tornado we didn’t know, we heard it, we knew something was happening, but it wiped every Christmas tree on this about 14 acres I believe it was. You got to get up, get moving, and start cleaning up.”
The Goodrums have already started the long process of clearing those 14 acres. It will take years for new Christmas trees to grow tall enough for families to take home.
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