EF1 tornado in Franklin County, Alabama

A tornado first touched down along Whitten Road near the intersection of Willis Road on the northwest side of Russellville. Trees were uprooted in this area and small trees were snapped. The tornado tracked northeast approaching the school complex. Here a tree was snapped and fell onto a house along Clay Avenue causing significant structural damage. The school complex along Summit Avenue sustained damage to its athletic fields and one awning at the elementary school was damaged. Across the street several trees were snapped near the base and a home sustained minor roof damage.

The tornado then appeared to weaken briefly with only very light damage noted over the next 2 miles before touching back down near Alpine Street. Here numerous hardwoods were twisted, mangled, and snapped. Several trees fell on houses causing substantial structural damage. The tornado reached its maximum intensity of EF-1 with a width of approximately 100 yards. Interviews with several residents indicated that they observed a multiple funnel type of tornado track across the neighborhood. The tornado lifted northeast and weakened as it produced minor tree damage along Mountain View Drive before dissipating.

A tornado outbreak occurred during the late afternoon and evening across the central Tennessee Valley on the 28th. Several cyclic supercells produced tornadoes, some of which were strong. Very heavy rainfall occurred in some areas as well. In particular, up to 5 inches fell in just a few hours which led to severe flash flooding in Valley Head.

An additional round of thunderstorms late in the day/evening of the 29th produced a few reports of damaging winds and hail.