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EF3 tornado in Washington County, Alabama

Tornado November 30, 2022 · Washington County, Alabama

EF3
Rating
20.1 mi
Whole path
700 yd
Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Greene County, Mississippi → Washington County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 700 yards (0.40 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The tornado began near Highway 57 in Greene County where several softwood tree trunks were snapped. It continued on an east northeast track producing damage along Nursery Road. The track continued into Washington County Alabama. The tornado crossed Highway 45 and hit Fruitdale High School where windows were damaged along with roof damage to the school and nearby houses. Widespread tree and power line damage was also observed in the Fruitdale area. The damage in Fruitdale is estimated to have been in the high EF-1 range with winds 105-110 mph. The tornado continued northeast and strengthened as it approached Baxter McIllwain Road. This is where the tornado reached peak intensity. Based on the ground survey, a nearly 500 yard swath of major tree damage was observed with countless hardwood and softwood trees destroyed. The EF-3 peak intensity (140 mph) is based on this swath of major tree damage. The tornado continued to track eastward through Tibbie with more significant to major tree damage (EF-2 intensity), along with roof damage observed along Leo and Boyd Willie Parnell Road. The tornado weakened as it moved east across Howardtown Road and dissipated east of Clarke Place Road. The tornado path received many cosmetic changes based on high resolution Planet and Worldview satellite imagery. The peak width was updated to be 700 yards.

The wider storm

A very warm and moist airmass developed ahead of a strong cold front. Thunderstorms developed ahead of the front and produced damaging winds along with a EF3 tornado that tracked from Greene County Mississippi into Washington County in Alabama.

Began near Fruitdale (31.3390, -88.4440).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1061361. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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