EF3 Tornado — Madison, Alabama

2023-04-01 · near Fisk, Madison, Alabama

Event narrative

The tornado began west of Highway 431 and south of Elkwood Section Road where multiple trees were uprooted and several trees fell on homes. On the east side of Highway 431, near the Lincoln Road intersection, numerous structures were heavily damaged including multiple stores which sustained major damage. This includes a collapse of walls and roofs displaced with debris thrown eastward. Given the degree of damage at this location, a mid-range EF-3 rating was reported. The tornado tracked east-northeast through Mulberry Road. Along this path, the tornado uprooted and snapped numerous trees and caused significant roof damage to a single-family home. Unfortunately, the tornado continued to intensify on route to Borderline Road which is along the Alabama and Tennessee state line. At this location, heavy damage was noted where houses were damaged and two homes experienced a complete collapse of walls, destroying the structures. One fatality was reported at a single-family home along Borderline Road where the structure was destroyed. In addition, HEMSI reported five injuries, three of which were transported to the hospital with critical injuries and two were treated on scene with minor injuries.

Wider weather episode

As part of a larger regional outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes on March 31st into April 1st, a band of thunderstorms, many of them supercellular, pushed east across north Alabama and southern middle Tennessee during the early morning hours of the 1st. One of these thunderstorms produced an EF-3 tornado in northern Madison County along the Tennessee State Line. Other thunderstorms produced wind damage across parts of Madison in Jackson Counties of north central into northeast Alabama.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.9746, -86.5738)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1092807. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.