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EF0 tornado in Randolph County, Alabama

Tornado May 27, 2024 · Randolph County, Alabama

EF0
Rating
3.2 mi
Path length
350 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 350 yards (0.20 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 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 brief EF1 tornado with winds up to 110 mph formed within a QLCS in northern Randolph County. The tornado began in a wooded area west of County Road 425 and began to snap tree branches and uproot trees. The tornado intensified after crossing County Road 427, snapping numerous trees between there and County Road 51. On County Road 51 multiple windows were blown out of a home with some minor roof damage also occurring. The roof was blown off an outbuilding causing its walls to collapse. Additional timber and outbuilding damage occurred as it crossed County Road 429 before the tornado dissipated in an inaccessible wooded area prior to reaching County Road 37. A tornado debris signature was observed on KFFC radar.

The wider storm

A line of thunderstorms entered northern portions of Central Alabama after 4:30 AM CDT on May 27, producing scattered areas of wind damage and an embedded tornado in Cherokee County. Simultaneously, an area of intense thunderstorms moved northeastward from north of Meridian, Mississippi into the southern and eastern portions of the Birmingham metro area. This resulted in widespread tree and power line damage and occasional structure damage across northern Hale, southern Tuscaloosa, Bibb, Shelby, Jefferson, St. Clair, and Talladega counties. As the northern line progressed southeastward and later merged with the advancing thunderstorms moving east of Birmingham, a second tornado occurred over northern Randolph County at approximately 6:55 AM CDT. Additional activity occurred during the afternoon hours over the southeastern counties, with a few reports of nickel to quarter-size hail.

Began near Newell (33.4850, -85.4444).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1170321. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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