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EF1 tornado in Jefferson County, Alabama

Tornado May 6, 2009 · Jefferson County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
0.4 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
$50K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 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 briefly touched down in the Albritton Road and Sparks Drive area near Warrior. Several large hardwood trees were uprooted, and several pines were snapped. Some of the trees fell onto and caused damage to houses. Several other homes in the area lost roof shingles.

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 Warrior (33.8234, -86.8707).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 176040. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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