EF2 Tornado — Dallas, Alabama

2023-01-12 · near Orrville, Dallas, Alabama

Event narrative

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in central Dallas County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum winds near 130 mph. The tornado began just east of Orrville near the intersection of Highway 22 and Cahaba Road. As it tracked northeast, it intensified and the damage path was nearly parallel with Highway 22. The damage consisted of mainly uprooted trees with some trunks that were snapped. There were also several manufactured homes that sustained roof and some foundation damage. As the tornado continued along Highway 22, additional tree damage was observed as it neared the southwestern sections of Selma.

The tornado quickly intensified as it entered the city limits of Selma, nearly parallel to Highway 22 and West Dallas Avenue. The overall length and damage width in the densely populated neighborhoods had devastating impacts to the city. Many hardwood trees were uprooted and softwood trees were snapped, many onto homes. Most of the softwood trees were snapped about halfway up on the trunks. A daycare center on West Dallas Avenue and Cooper Drive sustained heavy roof and exterior wall damage which was consistent with the higher-end EF2 wind speeds. Some debris rowing was also noted in the downstream vicinity. Over seventy children and workers survived without injury by taking shelter in small interior rooms and bathrooms after receiving the warning, while portions of the roof collapsed over large open classrooms and the former sanctuary. The second area of higher-end EF2 damage was noted downstream at the Selma Country Club where several buildings had significant roof and exterior wall damage and there was a complete blow down of extremely large hardwood trees. Additional softwood trees were also snapped in and around adjacent streets. As the tornado continued northeast, it entered the northern sections of downtown Selma. Much of the damage continued to consist of downed trees, some on homes, but several homes near the center of the track had entire roofs removed. Another notable area of damage was where Broad Street crossed the railroad tracks. A strip mall had much of its roof removed, and some of the X-braces in a metal building system failed, which from a structural engineering perspective was one of the more impressive damage indicators. Several older homes collapsed near the intersection of Minter Street and Saint Phillip Street, but they were built on brick pilings with open air underneath them, which kept them in the EF2 range. As the tornado exited downtown, it crossed Highway 14, where structure damage was noted with exterior walls that collapsed.

The tornado caused some significant damage at the Dallas County Jail on Selfield Road, with significant loss of roof material. The tornado weakened as it approached the Brantley community, where a few trees were uprooted. The tornado lifted just east of River Road.

Wider weather episode

Numerous strong to severe thunderstorms impacted Central Alabama during the morning and afternoon hours of Thursday, January 12th, 2023. Several supercell thunderstorms spawned multiple tornadoes which caused significant damage in many areas. The severe thunderstorms also produced damaging straight-line winds and hail up to golf ball size.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.3173, -87.2278)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1076636. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.