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EF1 tornado in Chilton County, Alabama

Tornado January 23, 2012 · Chilton County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
3.6 mi
Path length
500 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 500 yards (0.28 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

A tornado touched down near the intersection of County Road 99 and County Road 24 in the Enterprise community, causing minor damage to several manufactured homes and destroying one. The tornado tracked northeastward, crossing County Road 24 and County Road 733. As the tornado crossed County Road 49 and County Road 370, the tornado reached it maximum strength of 105-110 MPH and maximum width of 500 yds. At least 10 homes were severely damaged in this area. One home was completely shifted off its foundation, while another was partially moved. Another home had 90 percent of its roof removed, however all walls remained standing. The tornado continued to the northeast with several other homes receiving minor roof and porch damage along County Road 59. Along the remainder of its path, the tornado destroyed a few outbuildings and knocked down numerous trees. The tornado lifted along County Road 434, east of County Road 7. Merchantable timber losses estimated by the Alabama Forestry Commission for this track are approximately $108K.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Kincheon (32.7288, -86.6329).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 363581. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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