HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - The deadliest tornado to hit the city of Huntsville in almost 100 years touched down at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 15, 1989.

It was 25 years ago on Saturday.

The twister - an EF-4 tornado with peak estimated winds of 260 mph -- killed 21 people and injured 463 as it swept east down busy Airport Road at rush hour. It remains a vivid part of the Rocket City's weather history.

After the cold front that fueled the storm moved across the area, Huntsville began digging out from the rubble as snow flurries fell from the sky.

"I did OK through all this until the snow," John Kinzer, then the HEMSI executive director, told The Huntsville Times in 1994. "It was something about that snow that just brought all my emotions out. I just sat there in my car and just cried."

Tears began welling in his eyes on that fifth anniversary.

"I cried for all those people ... who had lost their life," Kinzer said. "It does it to me to this day, as you can tell."

What do you remember about that day? The horror of the storm or the heroics of first responders?

Share your memories, photos and videos in the comments section below and look for more coverage from AL.com this week commemorating the 25th anniversary of the tornado.