EF1 tornado in Dekalb County, Alabama

A tornado touched down south of Mentone along the Desoto Parkway (CR 89) just south of the intersection with CR 165. Here, several large cedar trees were snapped. The tornado moved northeast, paralleling the western side of CR 165. Mainly tree damage was noted in this area, with minor structural damage to barns and outbuildings. Several stands of old growth hardwoods were damaged here.

The tornado seemed to weaken briefly with only minor tree damage noted near downtown Mentone. Further up the slopes of Lookout Mountain, the tornado strengthened again to EF-1 intensity with speeds up to 105 mph, with sporadic swaths of hardwood trees snapped or uprooted, all along the eastern side of CR 89, before lifting just inside the state line.

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.