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EF1 tornado in Walker County, Alabama

Tornado May 6, 2009 · Walker County, Alabama

EF1

Rating

1.0 mi

Path length

300 yd

Path width

$260K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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 on the west side of Cordova along South Street. It then moved east-northeastward through the city of Cordova, and lifted shortly after it crossed near the intersection of Disney Street and Mass Avenue, near Cane Creek. Numerous trees were snapped off or were uprooted along the path. At least 15 homes were damaged by the fallen trees. One of the trees fell on a train and damaged some of the cars but the train did not derail.

The wider storm

An upper level disturbance and a nearby stationary front combined to produce numerous severe thunderstorms across Central Alabama, that included damaging winds, large hail, and several tornadoes.

Began near Cordova (33.7581, -87.1903).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Pickens County EF1 Pickens County EF1 Tuscaloosa County EF1 Tuscaloosa County EF1 Jefferson County EF0 Walker County EF0 Walker County EF0 Blount County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 176016. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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