TornadoLookup

Home / Alabama / Marengo

EF1 tornado in Marengo County, Alabama

Tornado January 3, 2023 · Marengo County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
8.8 mi
Whole path
275 yd
Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Marengo County → Hale County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 275 yards (0.16 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Marengo County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph. The tornado began just southwest of the intersection of Highway 43 and Osprey Drive where a cluster of trees were uprooted and snapped. The tornado tracked northeastward with an area of maximum damage along Highway 54 where numerous hardwood trees were uprooted and snapped. Metal roofing panels were also lofted into trees. Minimal damage mainly to vegetation occurred along the remainder of the path. The tornado crossed into Hale County about one-half mile west of Highway 69.

The wider storm

A long-duration severe weather event occurred from the late morning hours of Tuesday, January 3rd to the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 4th. Several rounds of rain and thunderstorms impacted Central Alabama, producing tornadoes, damaging straight-line winds, quarter size hail, and flooding.

Began near Old Spring Hill (32.4151, -87.7827).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

12 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1074247. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.