EF2 Tornado — Jefferson, Alabama

2012-01-23 · near Oak Grove, Jefferson, Alabama

Event narrative

This tornado initially touched down in northeast Tuscaloosa County, and traveled to the northeast, crossing into Jefferson County northeast of Groundhog Rd. As the tornado tracked toward, across, and then parallel to Lock 17 Rd, numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. The tornado continued northeastward crossing Camp Oliver Road and took a turn to the north at Blue Sky Rd. Tree damage continued as the tornado tracked parallel to Toadvine Rd and winds increased to a maximum of 130 MPH. Approximately 50 homes were damaged or destroyed along Toadvine Rd, including a manufactured home that was destroyed resulting in one fatality. Several more homes were damaged along Taylors Ferry Rd. The tornado lifted along Toadvine Road just southwest of Short Creek. Merchantable timber losses estimated by the Alabama Forestry Commission for this track are approximately $75K.

Wider weather episode

An upper level low pressure system developed over the Great Plains and moved east across the Ohio River Valley, dragging a cold front through the lower Mississippi River Valley. As the cold front moved through Arkansas, a squall line formed, producing severe thunderstorms to areas west of Alabama. As the cold front progressed eastward, individual supercells developed in advance of the front and moved through Alabama during the early morning hours on January 23rd. Several long track supercells produced strong, long track tornadoes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.4354, -87.2840)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 363558. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.