EF1 Tornado — Montgomery, Alabama

2024-12-29 · near Sprague, Montgomery, Alabama

Event narrative

A tornado began along Hobbie Road and Hillabee Road with a few uprooted trees and broken limbs. Tree damage gradually became more concentrated as the tornado moved northeastward, with a home south of Ridgeland Farms Road having the top of a pine tree fall on it. Several trees were uprooted across wooded areas before the tornado arrived at Mount Zion Road, where numerous pine trees were snapped or uprooted, one of which fell into the corner of a double-wide manufactured home. Significant splatter was observed on the east facing side of the double-wide. A couple sheds nearby sustained damage as well. Numerous trees were uprooted northeastward across wooded areas and pastures to Woodley Road and further to U.S. 231. Here, the BBQ Hill business sustained roof damage and had numerous pine trees snapped or uprooted on the premises. More trees were downed and an outbuilding was damaged along Old Carter Hill Road as the tornado dissipated. Maximum estimated winds were 100 mph.

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.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1222525. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.