EF1 Tornado — Autauga, Alabama

2021-03-17 · near Haynes, Autauga, Alabama

Event narrative

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Autauga County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph. A tornado touched down near Tom Turner Road where minor tree damage was noted. The tornado traveled east-northeast nearly paralleling County Road 24. Here, large trees were snapped near a home with several causing minor damage to the home and a porch. Farther down the road, another home sustained minor roof damage. The tornado appeared to weaken rather dramatically with only minor evidence of tree damage before the tornado lifted west of County Road 19.

Wider weather episode

An active southern jet stream set-up across the southern United States during the middle of March. Several short-wave troughs became negatively tilted as each one traversed across Texas and towards Alabama. This resulted in a single hail event one Monday, March 15, and significant tornado outbreak on Wednesday, March 17. Many supercells began to develop across Central Alabama by midday Wednesday and continued into the evening hours before a squall line moved through the state. Sufficient instability and strong wind shear produced conditions favorable for tornadoes to develop. The event consisted of twenty-one tornadoes in the NWS Birmingham forecast area.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.6621, -86.6920)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 944794. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.