EF1 tornado in Winston County, Alabama

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed the damage between Double Springs and Houston in Winston County and have determined that the damage was due to a brief EF-1 tornado, with winds of 105 mph. The tornado touched down along Highway 278 just east of the Winston County Airport. The tornado tracked generally north where it snapped and uprooted numerous trees. The tornado then moved along the Sipsey Fork, which feeds into Smith Lake. One boat house was destroyed, and a pontoon boat inside was flipped over. Several hardwood trees fell onto lake homes and sheds along Gary's Road and Spiller Road. The tornado weakened as it approached Robinson Bottom Road and lift north of Robinson Bottom Road.

Severe thunderstorms ahead of and along a cold front moved across Central Alabama on Thursday, April 11th. Storms along the cold front formed into a quasi-linear convective system, causing wind damage and producing seven tornadoes across the area. Ahead of the line, strong daytime heating and increasing instabilities coupled with strong diffluence aloft created prime conditions for discrete thunderstorms to form. These storms caused wind damage across portions of northeast Central Alabama during the late afternoon.