EF1 Tornado — Sumter, Alabama

2022-12-14 · near Siloam, Sumter, Alabama

Event narrative

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southern Sumter County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph. The tornado touched down just west of the the intersection of County Road 9 and Jessie Powell Road. Several softwood trees were snapped along County Road 9 and there was damage to two homes. Each home sustained varying degrees of roof damage, mostly minor. One home had roof material peeled away and was lofted to the northwest, and the porch had been lifted. A couple of nearby farm structures had roof and minor structural damage with debris lofted to the north. The tornado then continued northeast crossing Gully Road where a few trees were damaged. The next observable damage point was at the intersection of Highway 17 and Wright Road, where additional tree damage was observed. The tornado lifted shortly after crossing Highway 17.

Wider weather episode

A warm sector with surface temperatures in the 70s and dewpoints in the 60s developed over southwest Alabama during the afternoon of December 14th. Low level shear and helicity values were also high during the afternoon, producing conditions favorable for tornadoes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.3698, -88.2732)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1071095. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.