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EF1 tornado in Wilcox County, Alabama

Tornado March 26, 2023 · Wilcox County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
4.3 mi
Whole path
500 yd
Path width

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 500 yards (0.28 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

A unique scenario unfolded between Highway 265 South and Highway 10 East on 3/27/2023. A rapid succession of tornadoes occurred from the same supercell producing three separate tornadoes discernible on high resolution Worldview satellite imagery. This first tornado occurred just southeast of a small lake/pond in between several dirt roads. The tornado began by moving due north on the right side of the lake and dirt road, expanding rapidly to about 500 yards in width and uprooting/snapping many softwood and hardwood trees. It was here that it reached its peak intensity around 110mph as an EF1. The tornado starts moving northeast after this point, quickly beginning an occlusion to the north and northwest which is clearly evident with a narrow convergent path of tree uproots visible on high resolution Worldview satellite imagery. The tornado reached its peak intensity by the small lake with winds around 110mph.

The wider storm

A stalled front over northern portions of the area combined with favorable wind shear and instability led to the development of severe thunderstorms. Two tornadoes developed along with several reports of large hail.

Began near Shawnee (31.9415, -87.2180).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1161246. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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