EF2 Tornado — Pickens, Alabama

2020-01-11 · near Union Chapel, Pickens, Alabama

Event narrative

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Pickens County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 134 mph.

A tornado touched down south of Highway 86, just on the south side of Coleman Road. The tornado tracked northeast and crossed Highway 86. Along Highway 86, there were at least three homes damaged with one home losing most of its roofing. Numerous hardwood and softwood trees were snapped off or uprooted at this location. The tornado continued northeast across Turnipseed Road, causing significant tree damage. The tornado tracked along Settlement Road where it likely reached its peak intensity. Numerous homes were damaged or destroyed on the west side of Settlement Road, while homes on the east side sustained minor damage. Of the homes destroyed, six were site-built homes. Four manufactured homes were completely destroyed, three of which had anchoring systems that failed. All four manufactured home frames were found considerable distances from the home sites. Three fatalities occurred in two of these manufactured homes on Settlement Road. In addition, all of the injuries were also on Settlement Road. The tornado continued through a forest and crossed Pine Grove Road near McDaniel Road. The farm at this location sustained significant damage with a home and at least two barns heavily damaged. Numerous hardwood and softwood trees were uprooted or snapped as well. From here, the tornado continued northeastward and began to weaken. It crossed Pearson Road, uprooting several trees before dissipating north of Pearson Road and west of Phoenix Road. At least 22 homes suffered varying degrees of damage.

Wider weather episode

A dynamic storm system brought severe thunderstorms to a large part of Central Alabama on January 11th. Deep southerly flow brought rich Gulf moisture northward into Alabama. Anomalously high surface temperatures and moisture content was present in the developing warm sector ahead of the storm system. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front and moved into west central Alabama late in the morning. The line of storms quickly moved through Central Alabama and exited southeastern areas around sunset.

Although not every location experienced severe weather, widespread wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph were observed along the QLCS. Trees were snapped off or uprooted in numerous locations. Many homes, automobiles, and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. Several locations likely received straight-line wind gusts of 75 to 80 mph.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.2379, -88.1545)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 871629. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.