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EF1 tornado in Marengo County, Alabama

Tornado May 22, 2026 · Marengo County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
2.3 mi
Whole path
150 yd
Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Marengo County → Hale County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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

A tornado developed along Sparks Road, east of Demopolis, near the Marengo County/Hale County line, where several hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted, and a residence had siding damage either from wind or fallen trees. The tornado then moved northeast and impacted homes just off Highway 80 near Yellow Creek Road. Shingles and siding were removed from a couple of homes, a shed was destroyed, and general yard items were strewn. Perhaps the most eye-catching item was the displacement and flipping of a box truck and a pontoon boat. The tornado then crossed Highway 80 with minimal signs of damage and came to an end just past the Hale County line, along Mount Olive Road, where tree branches were broken. Maximum winds were estimated at 95 mph.

The wider storm

Numerous showers and thunderstorms occurred across Central Alabama during the late morning to early afternoon of May 22. Enough shear and instability were present to promote the development of small, low-topped supercells within a tropical environment. A few of these cells produced brief rotation, and three brief tornadoes occurred in Marengo and Tuscaloosa counties.

Began near Alfalfa (32.5001, -87.7464).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1329072. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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