EF2 Tornado — Choctaw, Alabama

2022-03-22 · near Cyril, Choctaw, Alabama

Event narrative

An EF-2 tornado began southwest of the community of Cyril, Alabama

in a forested area. The tornadoes strongest point was in this area

where a swath of extensive tree damage was noted based on Sentinel

satellite imagery. Based on this data in corroboration with other

upgrades done this season, we have raised the peak intensity of

the tornado to EF-2 with wind speeds of 120mph. The tornado began

to weaken some as it approached the community of Cyril, Alabama,

where a manufactured home was lifted and rolled into Cyril Rd just

west of Alabama SR-10. Debris from the home was scattered in the

treeline across the street. The manufactured home located next

door to the damaged home was intact with a couple of nearby large

trees snapped half way up the trunk. A nearby power pole was

uprooted as well. Numerous trees in the Cyril Rd area were

uprooted and snapped. There was minor roof damage to another

nearby home. The Cyril Rd area was the only area along the initial

tornado path that was able to be surveyed due to lack of road

access further southwest and the rest of the damage survey was

determined based on Sentinel satellite imagery. Sentinel satellite

data confirmed that the path of this tornado extended another 2+

miles to the southwest of the damage along Cyril Rd. A continuous

track with a swath of tree damage was noted in the satellite data.

Approximately 3 miles to the north-northeast of the damage along

Cyril Rd was an area of straight-line wind damage along CR 32 and

Gamma Rd. The survey team could not discern any notable

convergent pattern in the tree damage along Gamma Rd, nor did the

satellite imagery confirm a continuous track into this area. There

was also minor damage to two manufactured homes along Gamma Rd.

Wider weather episode

A strong storm system moving through the deep south. A line of thunderstorms developed ahead of this system and moved eastward. Ahead of the line, a very warm, moist and unstable environment developed which along with strong vertical shear, set the stage for an outbreak of severe thunderstorms across parts of southern United States. This event produced 3 tornadoes in southwest Alabama along with wind damage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.1601, -88.4028)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1013193. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.