Thunderstorm Wind — Russell, Alabama

2025-02-13 · near Oswichee, Russell, Alabama

Event narrative

The National Weather Service in Birmingham surveyed damage near Fort Mitchell in Russell County on February 13, 2025, in relation to thunderstorms in the area the previous night. The damage was consistent with straight-line winds up to 60 mph. At the Branching Pines RV community along Highway 165, several trees were uprooted or split and large limbs were snapped. Approximately five camper trailers were damaged, all by falling trees. Three had trees uproot and fall through them, causing considerable damage, while others had limbs fall onto the roofs. Although many of the camper trailers were occupied, no injuries occurred.

Wider weather episode

Severe weather was anticipated across southern parts of Central Alabama during the late evening of February 12 and into early February 13. As much of Central Alabama remained cool with cloud cover and light rainfall much of the day on February 12, a warm front became stalled over south-central Alabama and struggled to lift northward. Rainfall intensified over the Birmingham and Montgomery areas by the late evening, with 3-4 inches of rainfall causing minor flooding issues into the overnight hours. Further south, as a cold front approached from the west, a warm sector was eventually able to develop generally along and south of the Interstate 85 corridor. A few storms were able to develop and produce scattered wind damage across Elmore, Montgomery, Lee, and Russell counties, much of which occurred after midnight on February 13.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.2979, -85.0070)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1228328. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.