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EF2 tornado in Dekalb County, Alabama

Tornado October 25, 2010 · Dekalb County, Alabama

EF2
Rating
36.0 mi
Whole path
300 yd
Path width
$1.9M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Jackson County → Jackson County → Dekalb County → Dekalb County → Dade County, Georgia; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

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 EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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

An EF-2 tornado with peak winds up to 115 mph continued it's track from Jackson into DeKalb County producing it's worst damage near the intersection of County Road 134 and 131. At this location, a cinder-block foundation shed was completely destroyed. The tornado continued northeast lifting much of a roof and portions of a brick exterior of a home along County Roady 886. It also destroyed a 20 by 20 foot shed. As the tornado moved into the town of Ider, it destroyed the bleachers and scoreboard at the Ider High School football field. The bleachers were solid concrete and were reinforced with 1/2 inch thick rebar. Additional damage was observed along Highway 75 as the tornado tracked into Dade County, Georgia.

The wider storm

A quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) produced three tornadoes in northeast Alabama, including one EF-2 which tracked through portions of Jackson and DeKalb Counties. Severe weather began as early as late evening on the 24th and lasted through the pre-dawn hours on the 25th. Two people were also injured by lightning in Colbert County.

Began near Elliot Xrds (34.6638, -85.7544).

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 259799. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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