EF2 tornado in Winston County, Alabama

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Winston County near Arley and determined that the damage was consistent with an EF-2 tornado, with maximum winds estimated near 130 mph.

This tornado touched down in a wooded area just northeast of Southside Drive and southwest of Winston County Road 3906. As it crossed Winston County Road 3906 and neared County Road 12, the circulation became substantially stronger and snapped numerous pine trees and caused minor structure damage to two homes along County Road 12. It continued to snap trees and cause minor structural damage as it crossed County Road 77/ Helicon Rd and Hosanna Highway. As it neared Hosanna Highway along the shores of Smith Lake, it intensified to EF-2 strength with wind speeds of 130 to 135 mph, rendering 4 homes as uninhabitable/destroyed. As the tornado crossed Smith Lake, it decreased intensity but widened to a maximum path width of 1000 yards. The tornado re-intensified and narrowed as it continued to move northeastward along County Road 77/Helicon Road, snapping and uprooting trees and damaging another 10 homes and several sheds and outbuildings, and snapping more than a quarter mile stretch of concrete power poles. The tornado continued to brush the south side of Helicon, destroying a Fire Department training building and passing over a community storm shelter. From there it continued northeastward across Winston County Road 40 and weakened as it crossed into Cullman County approximately 2 miles ENE of Helicon.

A warm front moved northward during the day on Tuesday, November 29th, and surface temperatures climbed into the 70s across north Alabama. Low level shear and storm relative helicity increased over west Alabama Tuesday evening and discrete supercells developed over west Alabama.