EF1 tornado in Pike County, Alabama

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Pike County and determined that the damage was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 90 mph. The tornado touched down along Pike County Road 1107, about 5 miles north of the town of Goshen. The tornado traveled due east and produced mostly light damage as it crossed just south of the city of Troy. The most significant damage occurred just south of the town of Banks, where a mobile home suffered significant damage. The two occupants were uninjured as they took shelter after hearing about the warning. The tornado continued eastward where it uprooted trees and caused minor roof damage before exiting Pike County and into Barbour County.

After over a week of near-record to record high temperatures, several upper-level disturbances followed by a strong upper-level low pressure system produced multiple rounds of severe weather across Central Alabama. This system was characterized by strong upper-level winds and very cold upper-level temperatures. The first round produced one brief, weak tornado in St. Clair County on the evening of January 19. The second round occurred on the morning of January 20 with 12 tornadoes across Marengo, Elmore, Macon, Lee, Pike, and Barbour Counties. A third round produced damaging straight line winds on the night of January 21, including in the Birmingham metro area where the Birmingham airport measured a 75 mph wind gust and in Oneonta where 80 mph straight-line winds caused significant damage. A brief tornado also occurred in Tuscaloosa County with this activity. Finally, a fourth round moved through during the day on January 22 with 3 tornadoes across Bullock and Lee Counties.