On the morning of March 20, 1998, the lives of Hall Countians changed forever in the blink of an eye.
An early spring storm roared through our area during the predawn hours of that Friday morning, bring with it a tornado that slashed through North Hall and into White County.

In its wake, the twister left 12 people dead, around 100 families without homes and caused some $15 million in damage, including two schools that were in its path.

The devastation was mind-numbing, but the casualty count could have been higher. Many students on the way to Lanier Elementary and North Hall High schools hadn't arrived yet for the school day. Had those schools been full of kids, a horrifying disaster might have been the result.

Nonetheless, many families were devastated by loss of life and left homeless felt the impact of nature's nastiest beast.

Gainesville had known deadly tornadoes before. In 1903, a twister hit the New Holland area and killed more than 100. The 1936 tornado struck downtown, leveling buildings and trapping victims beneath them, 203 killed overall. But the storm that hit in '98 remains fresh in mind for those who were here then. It reminds us that despite the advance in weather forecasting, we nonetheless remain vulnerable.

Even if we didn't need a reminder of the threat we face this time of year, we got one over the weekend. A day after a twister hit downtown Atlanta on Friday, Gainesville and surrounding areas rode out several waves of powerful storms on Saturday that downed trees and power lines and left many of us huddled in the basement for part of the afternoon.

Tornadoes are the most dangerous of storms because they often can't be seen ahead of time or predicted well in advance. Unlike slow-moving hurricanes, twisters strike randomly with surgical precision. Often is the case where we see a house leveled by one while homes on either side are inexplicably spared. They touch down here and there, dart and turn, then disappear back into the clouds just as quickly as they came.

So as we remember the victims and aftermath of the '98 storm, it's a good time to remind ourselves to be ready when the next storm strikes. Just as we were 10 years ago, we are in the midst of the prime tornado season, when spring warm and cold fronts collide violently and lead to the kind of storms that can wipe out a neighborhood in minutes. Whether you live in an apartment, a mobile home or a split-level home on the lake, we all are vulnerable to the whims of nature when a tornado is spiraling toward us.

This is why the lessons learned from the 1998 storm are crucial to helping us prepare for the next serious twister that threatens us. As a result of that storm, warning sirens were installed throughout the county to alert residents when a potential tornado is on the way. Those sirens have been upgraded with the latest technology so that all within earshot will be able to take cover.

The advance of weather radar technology also is a major step forward, with forecasters now able to spot rotating wind patterns that can indicate the presence of a funnel cloud before it touches ground.

"We're far better prepared than we were in 1998," said David Kimbrell, Emergency Management Agency director for Hall County.

So we all should be. Weather-alert radios flew off the shelves in the days after the '98 storm and remain important tools to stay informed. Families should work on a disaster plan, knowing where to go and what to do when a dangerous storm is bearing down. Keep flashlights, cell phones and other important tools charged up and handy. Consult with your neighbors and other family members nearby and make sure you check on each other in case of a disaster.

This also is a good time to check your home insurance and update it as needed. Take pictures of your belongings and keep them and other important papers in a safe place away from your home, just in case.

We can't avoid another tornado when one decides to strike, and our history indicates one eventually will do so. But we can be prepared and learn the lessons from the past to minimize the loss of life and damage.

Let's act now to make sure that when the next storm is remembered years later, the precautions we took will leave us feeling less grief and more relief. When that storm strikes, we want to you to see this headline in the next edition of the paper: "It could have been worse."