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EF0 tornado in Perry County, Alabama

Tornado March 14, 2019 · Perry County, Alabama

EF0
Rating
2.9 mi
Whole path
300 yd
Path width

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 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 Perry County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph.

The tornado touched down just west of Central Mills Road (County Road 1) in far southern Perry County. The tornado tracked eastward and crossed County Road 1 and White Hill Road where several trees were snapped. One home had a large section of its roof removed, but it appears that the wind got under the porch overhang, and lifted metal paneling and roof. The tornado then took a left turn and crossed Little Chilatchee Creek and Reverend R.L. Flowers Road before entering Dallas County. The damage was mainly limited to trees.

The wider storm

A widespread severe weather event occurred across central Alabama aduring the afternoon and evening hours on Thursday, March 14th. The event began in the northwest counties and spread eastward all the way to the Georgia state line. A strong low level jet of 40-50 knots, combined with moderate instability (1000-1500 J/kg) and 0-6km bulk shear of 55-50 knots, produced an atmosphere favorable for severe thunderstorms and supercells.

Began near Ellawhite (32.3449, -87.4677).

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 815056. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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