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EF1 tornado in Geneva County, Alabama

Tornado January 2, 2017 · Geneva County, Alabama

EF1

Rating

7.8 mi

Whole path

500 yd

Path width

$550K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Geneva County → Houston County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 500 yards (0.28 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

A tornado touched down in Geneva County near the Houston County border along Rehobeth Road before lifting after crossing US 231 just east of the National Peanut Festival Grounds in Houston county. In Geneva County, the tornado debarked and denuded several large trees and removed the roof from a home under construction. In addition, numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. In Houston County, the most significant damage occurred at the National Peanut Festival grounds. Multiple buildings were damaged or destroyed and several utility poles were snapped. This tornado was rated EF1 in Geneva county and EF2 in Houston county. Max winds in Houston county were estimated at 115 mph. Damage cost was estimated.

The wider storm

Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms affected the region to start the year. Two day rainfall totals in excess of 8 inches were common across portions of the Florida panhandle with several roads flooded. Severe weather, including tornadoes and significant straight line wind damage, also occurred across the tri-state area with most of it in southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia. Albany was particularly hard hit with significant wind damage. There were a total of 5 fatalities across the tri-state area from straight line winds. There was also 1 fatality in Florida due to river flooding.

Began near Malvern (31.1104, -85.5078).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Houston County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 670346. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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