Home / Alabama / Shelby

EF0 tornado in Shelby County, Alabama

Tornado April 19, 2009 · Shelby County, Alabama

EF0

Rating

3.3 mi

Path length

100 yd

Path width

$10K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 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 a touched down on CR-17, in the the Maylene community. It then produced sporadic damage as it moved northeastward, crossing Kent Dairy and Thompson Roads, and AL-119, before lifting just before reaching Old Highway 31 and a large shopping center. Damage along the path was minor, with a few trees being snapped off, and a few homes sustaining light shingle damage.

The wider storm

A powerful spring storm system and associated cold front brought numerous thunderstorms to central Alabama. Many of the storms produced large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes.

Began near Maylene (33.2035, -86.8627).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Blount County EF2 Russell County EF1 Perry County EF1 Perry County EF1 Montgomery County EF1 St. Clair County EF0 Hale County EF0 Shelby County EF0 Montgomery County EF0 Bullock County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 168516. 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.