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EF1 tornado in Cleburne County, Alabama

Tornado May 11, 2008 · Cleburne County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
3.8 mi
Path length
1,000 yd
Path width
$1.8M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,000 yards (0.57 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 along the Talladega Scenic Drive just south of US Highway 78. It then moved along a slightly curved path until it crossed CR-79, and then tracked almost due east as it produced its most concentrated damage near SR-9. The tornado lifted near the end of Brockford Road in the vicinity of Shadow Lane, on the east side of the city of Heflin. Hundreds of trees were either snapped off or uprooted along the path. Eight homes were destroyed, and more than 40 others received significant damage.

The wider storm

A strengthening low pressure system, and associated cold front, caused numerous severe thunderstorms and several tornadoes across Central Alabama.

Began near Heflin (33.6440, -85.6380).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Walker CountyEF1 Marion CountyEF1 Cleburne CountyEF1 Walker County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 98754. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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