EF0 tornado in Lee County, Alabama
Tornado January 21, 2017 · Lee County, Alabama
The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.
What the National Weather Service wrote
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in central Lee County and determined that the damage was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 70 mph. A weak tornado formed near CR 413 about .25 mile south of Stringfellow Road, causing shingle damage and knocking down some branches. The tornado tracked north and dissipated just north of CR 417. Several trees were uprooted as it crossed CR 417.
The wider storm
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.
Began near Mitchell Xrd (32.5626, -85.3572).
Other tornadoes from the same storm system
13 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 676456. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.
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