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EF1 tornado in Marshall County, Alabama

Tornado March 18, 2013 · Marshall County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
12.2 mi
Whole path
160 yd
Path width
10
Injuries

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Marshall County → Marshall County → Dekalb County → Etowah County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 160 yards (0.09 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 produced EF0 to EF1 damage, with wind speeds up to 100 mph along a path beginning along Hambey Road just east of McVille Road. Several softwood and hardwood trees were either uprooted or snapped along Hambey Road. As the tornado moved east, several wooden power poles were snapped. Several farm buildings were destroyed with debris strewn over 100 yards. Additional tree damage was noted along County Roads 381 and 82. The tornado crossed into DeKalb County east of Gaines Road.

The wider storm

An active severe weather episode was produced by two quasi-linear convective systems. The first developed during the midday hours across middle Tennessee into northwest Alabama, while another which originated as a small convective cluster in central Arkansas rapidly intensified and raced eastward through northern Mississippi into north Alabama during the afternoon hours. Numerous reports of wind damage, large hail and four tornadoes. Two of the tornadoes injured ten people and produced significant damage to mobile homes, trees, and power poles.

Began near Mc Ville (34.2687, -86.1326).

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 439551. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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