It’s about 40 miles from LaGrange to Beauregard, Alabama, where the worst part of Sunday’s tornado outbreak took lives, destroyed homes and drastically changed lives forever.

At the time of this writing, 23 people have been found dead and many others are missing.

Lee County, Alabama, is so close to the Georgia state line that many residents likely work in Georgia — likely in nearby Columbus — and travel back and forth regularly. The images from there are hard to take in, and it’s hard to imagine what the people there are going through.

Several in LaGrange have done their part to load up supplies and so have many in neighboring Chambers County. If you want to help, there are many ways to do so, and we encourage that.

Although it’s hard to forget, this storm is also a reminder of the unforgiving power of Mother Nature. The National Weather Service had posted for days about the chance for severe weather Sunday, including putting parts of Alabama and Georgia — including the hardest hit areas and LaGrange — in an enhanced window for tornadoes.

There are so many ways in 2019 to get weather information, whether it’s through an app, the television, Facebook or a weather radio. Basically, you can pick a platform, and you can get weather updates that way. Some of the people in Beauregard and Smith Station had just minutes before the storm impacted their area. A few minutes can save lives.

We write this a lot, but now is also a good time to talk with family about a plan for when severe weather strikes.

There was never a tornado warning for Troup County on Sunday, and the majority of the severe weather stayed south of us. Not far south, but far enough.

Let’s be thankful for that, do our best to help those who were affected and plan in case the weather comes through our area next time.