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EF2 tornado in Clarke County, Alabama

Tornado December 25, 2012 · Clarke County, Alabama

EF2
Rating
24.8 mi
Path length
150 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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

The tornado touched down on Todd Town Road

seven miles north of Jackson. It then moved northeast where

it destroyed a farm out building then crossed Highway 43

approximately six miles southwest of Grove Hill. After it

crossed...the tornado was at its widest and caused extensive

damage to farm equipment...including a destroyed grain bin.

Many large trees were uprooted in this area with minor structural

damage to several homes as well. It continued northeast uprooting

large trees as it crossed Highway 84...two miles southeast of

Grove Hill. The tornado then weakened as the thunderstorm core

collapsed...causing a microburst which resulted in a half mile

wide damage swath on Nettlesboro Road...13 miles northeast of

Grove Hill. The tornado then reformed before exiting northeast

Clarke County...moving into southwest Wilcox County. The tornado

uprooted trees along the way before dissipating 12 miles

southwest of Camden.

The wider storm

A powerful storm system moved out of the plains on

Christmas, producing numerous strong storms across southeast

Mississippi, southwest Alabama, and the western Florida panhandle

out ahead of a strong cold front and accompanying squall line. Multiple

tornadoes, some long track, were observed along the central gulf coast

region.

Began near Winn (31.6180, -87.8672).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Mobile CountyEF2 Choctaw CountyEF1 Mobile CountyEF1 Washington CountyEF1 Wilcox CountyEF0 Crenshaw CountyEF0 Crenshaw County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 422499. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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