EF2 tornado in Perry County, Alabama

The supercell which produced the County Road 7 EF-1 tornado in central Perry County quickly generated a second tornado just south of the first tornado path. This tornado tracked through eastern Perry County and through much of Chilton County before dissipating north of Clanton. The total path length for this tornado was over 39 miles. The tornado touched down along County Road 16, east of Alabama Road 175 in Perry County, damaging one home, one manufactured home, and downing numerous trees. It moved northeast, crossing the Cahaba River and into the Talladega National Forest, where thousands of trees were knocked down along the tornado's path. As the tornado crossed County Road 9, winds strengthened to 125 MPH and the sanctuary of historic Ephesus Church was destroyed as the roof and steeple were partially blown away. The tornado moved along Alabama Highway 183 for approximately 6 miles causing extensive tree damage and destroying several outbuildings. The tornado crossed Mat Moore Rd and into Chilton County, at Jim Foundry Rd, south of Alabama Highway 183. Merchantable timber losses estimated by the Alabama Forestry Commission for this track are approximately $1.2M.

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.