EF2 tornado in Etowah County, Alabama

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Etowah County, near Attalla, and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum winds near 115 mph.

A tornado touched down near Oak Hill Cemetery on the north side of Attalla along Highway 11. Here, several large trees were uprooted. The tornado tracked northeast almost paralleling Highway 11. Many homes suffered extensive structural damage due to toppled trees. Numerous power poles were also snapped along its track from Attalla to Reece City. The tornado widened and strengthened as it moved into Reece City with a wide swath of hardwood trees snapped and uprooted along both sides of Highway 11 near Bethany Baptist Church and Clifford Drive. Here the tornado reached its maximum intensity of 115 mph. The tornado maintained intensity as it crossed Highway 211 and with damage as far east as Interstate 59 and Highway 11. A barn was also significantly damaged at this location. The tornado finally began to weaken as it tracked northeast with sporadic snapped and uprooted trees noted for the next couple of miles. The tornado lifted just south of Wallace Drive.

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.