TornadoLookup

Home / Alabama / Lamar

EF1 tornado in Lamar County, Alabama

Tornado December 28, 2024 · Lamar County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
5.1 mi
Path length
300 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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

The tornado began near the intersection of County Road 34 and Hopper Hollow Road, where a site-built home lost its roof. Dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted in this area as well. The tornado continued to the northeast producing additional tree damage particularly near the intersection of Alabama Highway 18 and Coyote Road. The tornado continued to produce minor tree damage as it moved northeastward before dissipating near Watson Creek Road. Maximum winds were estimated at 105 mph.

The wider storm

A quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) entered western Alabama from Mississippi just after 9 PM on December 28. With ample wind shear and adequate instability with the line as it passed through Central Alabama, 18 confirmed tornadoes were spawned within different line segments as the QLCS pushed eastward. Of the 18 tornadoes, 6 were rated EF1, including one that had a mile-wide path in Hale County near Sawyerville and two tornadoes that struck areas of central Montgomery County. An EF0 in Lowndes County resulted in two injuries. In addition, strong gusts associated with the QLCS resulted in scattered areas of non-tornadic wind damage.

Began near Molloy (33.7138, -88.2103).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1222501. 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.