Groundhog Day in 2007 was a day Villagers were here at the time would never want to live through again.
One decade ago, it was about 3 a.m. when the Groundhog Day Tornado cut a vicious path through The Villages.
Mike and Barbara Connors, like so many of their neighbors, were new to The Villages. They were sleeping in their Village of Sabal Chase home when their dog Mannix let out a howl.
“It was a howl like I had never heard before,” Mike Connors said.
The Groundhog Day Tornado killed 21 people and injured 76 others.
It was ultimately responsible for eight deaths in the Lady Lake area. From here, the tornado went on to kill another 13 people in the Lake Mack area.
It was the second-deadliest tornado outbreak on record for Florida, with damages of nearly $220 million.
About 1,000 homes in The Villages were damaged with Poinciana, Caroline, Mallory Square and Sabal Chase absorbing the brunt of the tornado’s punishment.
Pastor Larry Lynn of Lady Lake Church of God was at home asleep when the Groundhog Day struck Lady Lake and The Villages.
He and church members went down to survey the damage at their worship center, amid the tangled trees and downed power lines.
As the dawn broke, they found their church had been destroyed.
But their spirit was unbroken and the following Sunday — Super Bowl Sunday — they conducted services at the site among the rubble. Gov. Charlie Crist attended the service.
The congregation spent the next two years meeting at the old Phillips collision center building.
Today the church has been magnificently rebuilt.
