To the east of US-31, the damage quickly diminished from EF-2 intensity to EF-1 and EF-0. Know the location of the nearest shelter, or business that is open 24/7, wrote James Spann, a veteran meteorologist at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham known for walking Alabamians through scores of historic outbreaks. The tornado continued northeastward into Tallapoosa County, where EF-1-caliber damage was observed. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. #alwx pic.twitter.com/U6DpeZeXIq, 6:00 p.m.: Tornado emergency extended into Columbiana and Wilsonville, about 30 miles southeast of Birmingham. The majority of it remained within a couple of yards of the home. So, this supercell existed for about 7 hours and 24 minutes, and traveled approximately 380 miles producing several strong to violent tornadoes along the way. His girlfriend, Ashley Harrison, who was huddle in a closet with him was ripped from his arms. Rapidly intensifying, the tornado moved towards the southern and eastern portions of Tuscaloosa at around 5:10p.m. CDT (22:10 UTC). Land Along the same stretch, the bodies of a man and woman were blown almost 100 feet from their mobile home. Noon: Particularly dangerous situation tornado watch issued. Meteorologists have rated the tornado that took seven lives in Autauga. The tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011 cemented itself in the consciousness of every Alabamian who experienced it. The tornadic storms occurred amid an intensifying storm system unleashing all modes of severe weather from Mississippi to Kentucky to western South Carolina. A small club house that was anchored to a foundation, but with apparently no interior walls, was completely destroyed and swept from its foundation. However, the longest tornado track on record in Alabama happened on May 27, 1973. The trail left by the EF5 tornado in Mississippi is much shorter than a similar trail that cuts across northwestern Alabama. Radar suggested the storm crossed Interstate 65 around 1:30 p.m. and was between Meadowbrook and Chelsea at 1:40 p.m. A tornado emergency is issued in the most urgent particularly dangerous situations which the Weather Service deems life-threatening., TORNADO EMERGENCY! The storm was racing off to the northeast at 45 mph, in the general direction of Birminghams southern suburbs, which it may approach in about 45 minutes. Incredibly sad looking at this radar data and seeing the debris signature triple in size after passing over/near #Columbiana Alabama #tornadooutbreak pic.twitter.com/ge7gY5iLWE, 5:30 p.m.: Tornado emergency for areas about 40 miles south of Birmingham. But even the interlude between the two waves produced damage. pic.twitter.com/6yArwiZEz4. And, if they fall in a tornado warning polygon, call them or text them to let them know about the threat! The National Weather Service has spent the past few days tracing the path of Alabama's deadliest tornado since 2019. Tornado Track Across Indiana and Kentucky, NASA Goddard Space See all of AL.coms April 27, 2011 anniversary coverage here. A confirmed tornado, about 30 miles southwest of Birmingham, was sweeping to the northeast at 40 mph and headed in the direction of Birminghams southern suburbs. The weather service said numerous homes were damaged -- some significantly -- on River Run Road and the adjacent side streets. It was right in my face, he said. Winter Weather Warnings 4 p.m. - An EF-3 tornado touched down in Marion County, gaining strength west of Hamilton, killing six people and damaging scores of homes. In Pratt City the tornado destroyed the library, damaged a fire station, and wiped away homes in several neighborhoods, such as Smithfield Estates. As the tornado approached Interstate 359, several buildings were destroyed including the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Operations Center. Its made up of cold air and counterclockwise spin at high altitudes nestled within a dip in the jet stream. The storm, at one point, was 1.5 miles wide. Nine were in central Alabama, one was in north Alabama, one was in southeast Alabama and three were in southwest Alabama. [2] Two days before the event, on April 25, the SPC issued a moderate risk of severe weather encompassing portions of central and eastern Kentucky, middle and eastern Tennessee, northeast Mississippi, central and northern Alabama, and northwest Georgia. The Storm Prediction Centers language in its forecast discussion is even stronger compared with the high-risk event last week, signaling the significant potential for an extreme event. These are not individual tornadoes but reports of tornadoes. He stated further that he had already declared a federal state of emergency in Alabama.[23]. The tornado that passed through Tuscaloosa caused more than 1,000 injuries and at least 65 deaths across several towns and cities, the highest number of fatalities from a single tornado in the United States since May 25, 1955. 8:12 p.m. - An EF-4 tornado killed nine along a 44-mile path through Elmore, Tallapoosa and Chambers counties in the Lake Martin area. @abc3340 @spann @TaylorSarallo #alwx pic.twitter.com/t5Aq29BkMX, 3:15 p.m.: Severe damage about 50 miles northeast of Birmingham. Another tornado, an EF-3, had a 29.24-mile path through Perry, Bibb and Shelby counties and injured two people. Due to the combination of rich low-level moisture, strong shear, and focused large-scale ascent, there was relatively high confidence across the outlined area for strong tornadoes a tornado rated EF2 or higher on the Enhanced Fujita scale and widespread damaging winds. In all, 299 Alabamians were killed in the outbreak. A string of those tornado reports likely came from one storm, one long-lived supercell storm. The tornado continues to loft massive amounts of debris into the air, which is being detected by radar. April 27, 2011. Thats an ominous atmospheric signal of a violent weather day. Just before noon, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a particularly dangerous situation tornado watch for central and eastern Mississippi, western and northern Alabama, southern middle Tennessee, and northwest Georgia until 8 p.m. central time. 11:20 a.m. - An EF-1 tornado touched down in Decatur Industrial Park, damaging roofs and leaving damage. This article was published more than1 year ago. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Detailed damage inspection has revealed a maximum of EF-4 damage east of Holt, near Concord, and the Pleasant Grove areas. The storm that spawned that tornado had an even longer track. It continued on into Jefferson County, crossing Interstate 65, slamming into Pleasant Grove, Concord and McDonald Chapel in Jefferson County. StormReady Long-track, strong to violent tornadoes are possible. Several apartment complexes were entirely destroyed in this area, and a few two-story apartment buildings were completely reduced to rubble. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Satellite Observes Damage Path of April Tornadoes in Alabama, Follow this link to skip to the main content, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer or ASTER. A well-anchored clubhouse on the property was mostly swept away and its remains were scattered into a pond, even though the structure had lacked interior walls. The supercell produced a large wedge tornado in rural Greene County, Alabama, which tracked towards the adjacent Tuscaloosa County at EF2 intensity, uprooting numerous trees and causing minor damage to structures. #alwx pic.twitter.com/0lqKYP5OwS. 2:30 p.m.: Tornado warning for Meridian, Miss. More than a dozen tornadoes were reported across Alabama on Thursday. To those who perished in the storm or lost their lives as a result of tornado-related injuries, Tuscaloosa will never forget you. The tornado crossed Holt Peterson Rd just northwest of Clinker Rd, where two homes were completely destroyed. No one was home thank God. 4:30 p.m.: New tornado warning south of Tuscaloosa and flash flood warnings through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. Flight Center. 6:23 p.m. - The earlier supercell that devastated Tuscaloosa and Jefferson counties, ignited back into an EF-4 tornado. 3:45 p.m.: Birmingham ABC affiliate reporter: multiple people pulled from their homes and hospitalized southeast of the city. [1] As a shortwave trough tracked across portions of the Mid-South and southeastern United States, moderate instability and strong wind shear ahead of a trailing cold front was expected to promote the development of supercell thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds. (NASA) Recent images of the April 27 storm damage path have been captured by NASA's Terra satellite, part of NASA's Earth Observing Satellite system, or EOS. On May 2, 2011, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASAs Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this natural-color image of the tornado track through Tuscaloosa. Tornado now confirmed by radar, and some tree damage reported in the same area. pic.twitter.com/kcS53FPPkX. This was the third tornado to strike the city of Tuscaloosa in the past decade, and the second in two weeks. Also, to Gene Bussell and his crew with the AlabamaNational Guard for their cooperation with aerial surveys along this track. The Weather Service had already received reports of 24 twisters, 59 instances of damaging winds, and 49 reports of large hail. One of the cities hit hardest was Tuscaloosa, Ala. A nearly mile wide tornado cut a path though the town, killing 53 people, and injuring 1200 more. About Radar It turns out another tornado from Thursday would also qualify as a long-track storm: The EF-1 twister that left a 30.4-mile-long track through parts of Lawrence, Morgan and Limestone counties in northwest Alabama. The tornado reached a maximum path width of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) during its track through Tuscaloosa, and once again when it crossed Interstate 65 north of Birmingham, and attained estimated winds of 190 mph (310 km/h) shortly after passing through the city. Every tree was snapped in this area, including those within deep ravines. By the time the tornado reachedInterstate 65, it was evident that the storm was losing its energy. Winter Products Description. The storms had cut power to over 35,000 customers in Alabama. As it entered the city, Skycam footage showed surface condensation in the tornado, outside of a visible debris cloud, had briefly lifted; a discernible wedge-shaped condensation funnel, with occasional horizontal and vertical subvortices, subsequently touched back down at the surface as it began moving into neighborhoods in southern Tuscaloosa. Please try another search. Heres a look at the updated track of Thursdays deadly tornado from the preliminary storm report from the National Weather Service in Birmingham: The tornado touched down at 12:40 p.m. Jan. 12 west of U.S. Highway 82 near Independence, causing damage to nearby farms. December 16, 2012 Tony Lyza. 4.1K. Multiple locations were found. Even a decade later, it seems hard to believe. It crossed the highway and rolled a manufactured home along Autauga County Road 40. Tuscaloosa 2011 Tornado Path Google Earth - Then and now Posted on 1/14/23 at 6:41 pm 16 5 The yellow drawn off area in the second set was Alabama long snapper Carson Tinker's Home. [19] The structures that were swept away by this tornado were either improperly anchored, lacked interior walls, or were surrounded by contextual damage not consistent with winds exceeding 200mph (320km/h), and as a result an EF5 rating could not be applied. Any relatively discrete supercells will be capable of multiple tornadoes, some long-tracked/strong to violent (EF2-5 possible) w/considerable destructive potential, wrote the Storm Prediction Center. The tornado crossed the river near Neely Road on the west bank and Kelly Road on the east bank. Non-Precipitation Warnings At least 30 people were injured as the tornado carved a 10-mile (16-kilometer) path through Birmingham's northern suburbs, an area severely damaged by a much larger tornado a decade ago. As the tornado moved across a coal yard in this area, a 35.8-tonne (78,925lb) coal car was thrown 391ft (119m) through the air. A line of thunderstorms, stretching from near Meridian, Miss. Tornado Warnings Numerous trees were completely denuded and debarked as the tornado passed near the rural communities of Searles and Mud Creek, and debris from Tuscaloosa was reported to be falling from the sky across Birmingham over 20 miles (32km) away in Jefferson County. However, this was revised to 64 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries. 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