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EF1 tornado in Lamar County, Alabama

Tornado November 29, 2016 · Lamar County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
9.7 mi
Path length
600 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 600 yards (0.34 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Central Lamar County and determined that the damage was consistent with an EF-1 tornado, with maximum winds estimated near 105 mph.

The tornado touched down about 3 miles west southwest of the Lamar County Airport, near the intersection of Buck Jackson Road and Morris Road. There were several trees with large branches removed and a few trees that were snapped off. The tornado moved northeastward and crossed County Road 25 and Country Club Road. Several trees were snapped or uprooted and a few mobile homes suffered minor damage. The tornado then hit the Lamar County Airport at US Highway 17. Two hangers were destroyed, three planes were destroyed, several outbuildings were destroyed, one restaurant sustained roof damage, several mobile homes sustained minor damage and one home was destroyed. The tornado continued northeastward and produced more tree damage and minor mobile home damage on Pitts Road and Bluebird Road. Additional damage was located on Taylor Springs Road where several trees were uprooted and snapped off, a few homes sustained roof damage, and a few mobile homes were damaged. The tornado continued to snap off trees until it lifted near the intersection of County Road 49 and Garrison Road.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Vernon Lamar Co Arpt (33.8255, -88.1623).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 668095. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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