EF1 Tornado — Greene, Alabama

2024-12-28 · near Forkland, Greene, Alabama

Event narrative

The tornado began approximately four miles northeast of Forkland in extreme eastern Greene County along County Road 25, just north of Modley Lane. At this location, numerous large hardwoods were uprooted surrounding a site-built home, causing damage to the residence and at least one vehicle. Additionally, metal panels were removed from the roof and sides of a farm outbuilding. A few hundred yards to the north, a well-defined area of significant tree damage occurred, where many dozen to perhaps hundreds of pine trees were snapped. These non-contiguous pockets of well-defined damage suggest the tornado was characterized by multiple vortices. The tornado widened substantially and maintained its multiple vortex nature as it continued to the northeast and moved into Hale County.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.6733, -87.8190)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1222510. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.