EF2 Tornado — Hale, Alabama

2022-02-03 · near Sawyerville, Hale, Alabama

Event narrative

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in western Hale County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum winds near 135 mph. The tornado crossed into Hale County from Greene County and intensified, uprooting and mowing down hundreds of trees as it moved along Bass Lane near the Black Warrior. The tornado then crossed Mason Bend Road where it snapped numerous hardwood and softwood trees, destroying several manufactured homes, and which resulted in a few minor injuries. One unoccupied single-wide manufactured home rolled over and landed upside-down on top of a car. From there it continued east-northeast, crossing Erie Road and County Road 92 with slightly less intense damage to trees. As it approached Alabama Highway 14, just north of Sawyerville, several homes were damaged, and one double-wide was destroyed, causing several injuries. The tornado turned over a fish truck causing the load of fish to be scattered across the road, and it deposited two pickup trucks into a nearby pond. The tornado continued east-northeast snapping and uprooting trees as it crossed County Road 17.

As it approached County Road 30, the tornado reached its maximum intensity of about 135 mph. A double-wide manufactured home was torn from its anchors, lofted and tossed approximately 50 yards across the road, resulting in one fatality and two serious injuries. A site-built home across the street sustained significant roof damage and broken glass. A double-wide manufactured home a few hundred yards south of the first home was split in two, with one half of the home remaining anchored while the other half rolled away. The tornado then crossed wooded land and pastures on either side of Big Brush Creek, before crossing County Road 21, snapping and uprooting numerous trees. Similar, but less consistent damage, continued as it crossed Raspberry and Hubbard Roads before moving over inaccessible woods and pastures along Five Mile Creek. The tornado continued to weaken as it crossed Highway 69 near Harper Hill, causing only sporadic tree damage. The tornado dissipated somewhere between Harper Hills Road and County Road 31.

Wider weather episode

A slow moving cold front moved through Central Alabama during the afternoon and overnight hours on February 3-4. A supercell thunderstorm developed in far eastern Mississippi and produced three EF2 tornadoes as it moved across west Alabama. Additional storms produced 2 EF0 tornadoes in Elmore County. A line of storms stalled along and south of the Interstate 85 corridor, resulting in a period of heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Rainfall totals of 4-6 inches were observed over a 3 hour period.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.7100, -87.8280)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1007148. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.