It's been five years since a strong storm system brought devastating storms to the south, with 122 tornados striking in five states, including Tennessee.
April 27 was a deadly night, with hundreds of 35 people killed in Tennessee.
Those strong storms moved over Knoxville, but we were lucky to be spared the worst of the winds. There was some wind damage and flooding in the city, but what left its mark for months to come-- was the hail.
Hail, some up to baseball-sized, tore up roofs, broke windows, and dented vehicles across the area.
Tarps covered many roofs for weeks or even months as people waited for repairs to their homes.
So many vehicles needed repair that auto body shops in the area were backed up for months, as owners worked with overwhelmed insurance companies to cover the costs. Many cars were completely totalled.
People drove around with dimpled hoods and cracked windshields.
Every car at West Chevrolet on Alcoa Highway had some sort of damage from that storm, cutting the prices of those cars almost in half.
The dealership's insurance claim with $2.5 million dollars.
Despite that, dealership president Charles West said that storm, although devastating, did come with a silver lining.
"The hail storm coming out of a really bad economy in 2011 we really found ourselves with a little bit of stimulus with all those millions and millions of dollars of insurance claims into the Knoxville area. It actually helped our economy a little bit," said West.
West said that year was the busiest year they've seen in company history. He also said that many people have seen changes to their insurance, so they can be prepared if it happens again.