EF2 tornado in Dekalb County, Alabama

A tornado touched down along County Road 539 north of County Road 50 in the Fyffe and Shiloh communities. Minor tree damage was noted in this area. An unoccupied chicken house also sustained damage. Near the intersection of County Roads 50 and 43, a restaurant sustained roof damage and a carport was flattened. Further east, another large farm building sustained major damage. Along Highway 50, additional chicken houses were damaged or destroyed along with trees snapped and uprooted.

The most significant damage occurred along Traylor Street just north of Highway 50/Grove Oak Road. Two large, well constructed, farm buildings were completely destroyed. One of these contained metal trusses and the posts were ripped out of the ground. Debris was thrown several hundred yards and large debris was embedded into the ground. A nearby home sustained minor structural damage. The path widened to 350 yards with estimated maximum wind speeds of 120 mph. The tornado began to narrow and weaken as it moved further east as it crossed County Roads 523 and 578. The tornado lifted near County road 72/Tumlin Road norht of Highway 75.

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.