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EF1 tornado in Clarke County, Alabama

Tornado April 12, 2020 · Clarke County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
0.8 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 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

The tornado touched down approximately three quarters of a

mile west of West Bend Road and moved northwest across West Bend Road before

lifting. Numerous pine trees were snapped along the path. The start

point of the path is estimated. There was also a much larger area of

straight line wind damage observed around the area, with winds estimated

at 60-80, which resulted in tree damage.

The wider storm

A strong spring storm system moved across the eastern states. A very warm and moist air mass moved in ahead of the approaching cold front. The very unstable air mass combined with plenty of wind shear lead to a severe weather outbreak across the southeast states.

Began near West Bend (31.7980, -88.1340).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Choctaw CountyEF1 Wilcox County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 885083. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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