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EF1 tornado in St. Clair County, Alabama

Tornado April 19, 2009 · St. Clair County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
2.9 mi
Path length
75 yd
Path width
$20K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 75 yards (0.04 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

The tornado touched down at the intersection of US-411 and Joshua Drive, several miles northeast of Ashville. It then moved nearly coincident with US-411 for about 3 miles, lifting just west of Mopar Drive. About 50 trees were snapped or uprooted, but no other damage was found.

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 Greensport (33.8643, -86.2199).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Blount CountyEF2 Russell CountyEF1 Perry CountyEF1 Perry CountyEF1 Montgomery CountyEF0 Hale CountyEF0 Shelby CountyEF0 Shelby CountyEF0 Montgomery CountyEF0 Bullock County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 168544. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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