Last week the temperatures warmed up and it felt like Spring would come after all. The weekend brought freezing rain, sleet, and tornadoes to the South to reinforce the fact that winter is still upon us. According to the forecast, this rollercoaster ride will continue for another week or so.

My family came through the weekend unscathed. My husband was even able to referee several soccer games at a local tournament before the rain hit, compromising the already saturated fields. At the end of it all, he was tired, but no worse for the wear.

But we live in North Mississippi. Our neighbors in South Alabama were not so lucky. Four tornadoes cut a path across Alabama over the weekend. The one that ravaged Lee County was an EF-4 with winds estimated at 170mph. The death toll continues to rise as search and rescue teams comb through the debris. Tonight, snow flurries are falling in that same county. We often joke about the unpredictable nature of spring weather in our region, but this is no laughing matter.

One school has already shared on social media that the student body is mourning the loss of a grade-school girl lost in the storm. Another family–a father, mother, and young boy–are all in the ICU with no home to return to as they begin to recover (and no medical insurance to cover the costs of said recovery).

In the South, we pride ourselves on the “chainsaws and casseroles” brigade. “Neighbors” from states away who escaped the clutches of severe weather and show up bearing food, supplies, and a willingness to help in whatever way they can. Linemen from other parts of the state, and other states, show up and work tirelessly to get electricity back to the devastated areas so the families with homes left to go to at least have heat. Churches often show up with disaster relief teams and truckloads of bottled water, baby supplies, clothes, and tools to fix what they can. This is what people in the southern part of Alabama need right now.

Many of my readers are from far outside the southeastern portion of the United States. You have no connection to these people. Nobody affected is a friend of a friend, or a friend’s cousin. All the same, I ask that you spare a moment to think of those who are in need tonight. If you are the praying type, I ask that you pray for those affected by the severe weather. If you aren’t the praying type, a kind or somber thought would still be appreciated.

The reason the South has to be proud of our chainsaws and casseroles brigade is that much of our region is rural. We don’t warrant news coverage because most people in the U.S. have never heard of places like Lee County, Alabama. The death toll is in the tens not hundreds or thousands. But the loss is still great to those who live there. It’s still a disaster. And even agrarian areas deserve better than to be ignored in their time of need and grief.

If you are able to donate to the Red Cross, they are also a part of recovery efforts. If you aren’t–there is no guilt or shame in that–a thought or a prayer so that the people of Lee County are not forgotten or ignored during this difficult time is appreciated.

Chainsaws and casseroles are optional.