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EF2 tornado in Dekalb County, Alabama

Tornado April 28, 2014 – April 29, 2014 · Dekalb County, Alabama

EF2
Rating
2.5 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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 tornadic cyclic supercell produced another tornado in the community of Dawson along County Road (CR) 20. Numerous trees were snapped and/or uprooted in this area. The tornado tracked north-northeast snapping additional trees along CR 199, and damaging a mobile home. Another home received minor structural damage along CR 196. The tornado fell a wide swath of trees before it crossed Highway 57. Here it reached maximum intensity (EF-2) with winds of 115 mph, nearly destroying a small home. Several large farm buildings were significantly damaged near the intersection of CR 204 and 57. The tornado nearly paralleled the highway as it tracked further north. Another home sustained roof damage along CR 57 as well. The tornado began a weakening phase north of the intersection with CR 204, with mainly tree damage noted north of that location. The tornado finally lifted just north of the intersection of CR 57 and 109.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Dawson (34.3073, -85.9305).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

10 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 505668. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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