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EF1 tornado in Walker County, Alabama

Tornado May 10, 2008 · Walker County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
9.3 mi
Path length
400 yd
Path width
$20K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 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 near the intersection of Birdfarm Road and Snow Lake Road, and then moved southeast, crossing SR-257 and SR-69, before lifting near the Cullman County line. The tornado affected areas near the Sunlight Community, the Burrows Crossroads Community, and the Powellville Community. Numerous trees were either snapped off or uprooted along the path. Several structures suffered varying degrees of 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 Marigold (33.9433, -87.2472).

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 Cleburne County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 98758. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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