EF0 tornado in Pickens County, Alabama

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northeast Pickens County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 75 mph.

The tornado formed along County Road 47 (Bill Hill Church Road) about nine miles northeast of the town of Reform. The tornado tracked northeast, paralleled State Route 159, and crossed into Fayette County along County Road 12. Several trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. The tornado affected mostly rural locations.

An upper-level low over the southwest United States evolved into a negatively-tilted shortwave trough as it moved over the southeastern United States. A warm front steadily moved northward during the morning and afternoon hours on Sunday, April 12. This allowed an unstable air mass to move northward and overspread much of the region. At the same time, very strong wind shear developed over Alabama as the upper trough neared the state.

An initial wave of severe storms affected areas near and north of Interstate 20, involving tornadoes, damaging straight-line winds, and some hail. Through the evening, a second wave of thunderstorms affected the remaining areas of Central Alabama with tornadoes and damaging straight-line winds. Flooding also resulted from training rainfall near and north of Interstate 20. Some roads became impassible or were washed out. This weather event was large in scope and produced severe weather from Oklahoma and Texas, through the southeastern United States, then up the east coast to New York.