Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, March 19, 2018

Hail of one inch in diameter was reported.

Penny sized hail was reported on Wilson Dam Road.

Half dollar sized hail was reported near the Anderson Hills area.

Hail with a diameter of 1.25 inches was reported in Harvest.

Golf ball sized hail was reported near Meridianville.

A damage assessment team from University of Alabama-Huntsville observed damage associated with a tornado. The first area of damage was along Coondog Cemetery Rd. where a large pine tree was uprooted and fell south of due east and other trees losing branches around it. The tornado then crossed Coondog Cemetery Rd. moving into a region of extensive clear cutting and no open access. The next and more extensive damage area was along Mt. Mills Rd. Several large trees were uprooted in a ravine on the west side of Mt. Mills Rd., and more uprooted trees were found on a property on the southeast corner of Mt. Mills Rd. and Bald Knob Rd. The last damage was found on the east end of the property, with another tree uprooted and limbs down.

Quarter sized hail was reported in northwest Franklin County.

A tornado touched down along Jacinto Road in the Belgreen community at EF-0 strength, with winds around 70 mph. A grove of softwood Cedar trees were snapped as the tornado crossed into a wooded area and moved east. The tornado further intensified as it approached Auburn Rd. There, a mobile home was sideswiped by the tornado. The roof and siding of the mobile home was partially damaged and the window was blown out. A very large pine tree was uprooted and a barn was completely destroyed. It was here that the tornado likely reached maximum strength of 90 to 100 mph. The tornado descended a steep bluff and crossed a narrow section of Cedar Creek Lake, snapping and uprooting numerous soft and hardwood trees. The tornado likely reached its greatest width at around 100 yards. On the opposite side of the lake, a covered boat slip was completely destroyed. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped off. The siding and roof of three single family homes was damaged. The tornado weakened as it crossed Hwy 41. It knocked over another grove of cedars and caused EF-0 damage to the siding of a house. The tornado lifted in a heavily forested area along the far eastern edge of Cedar Creek Lake.

Golf ball sized hail was reported near Red Bay.

Baseball sized hail was reported near Burntout.

The tornado touched down in the Reedtown section of Russellville with EF-0 intensity, containing winds of 65-70 mph. The tornado caused minor roof and siding damage to a few single family homes. The tornado strengthened quickly to low-end EF-1 as it knocked down the chimney of a house and caused more extensive damage to the siding and metal roof of another. The tornado likely reached maximum intensity and width as it crossed Hwy 43 on the south side of Russellville. Here, the tornado was around 200 yards wide, with winds of 90 mph. A Waffle House restaurant had damage to its sign and roof. A warehouse and apartment complex also sustained some minor structural damage. The tornado then moved through a residential section of southeast Russellville, causing significant damage to a grove of pine and cedar trees and completely destroyed a small barn. However, only minor damage occurred at any of the one to two story homes, placing winds in the 80-90 mph range. The tornado then weakened further as it approached Highway 42 east of Russellville and lifted near Sloss Lake Park.

A tree was knocked down on East Lawrence Street.

Trees and power lines were knocked down along Highway 43.

Damage was reported to a warehouse along Jackson Avenue South, just to the west of Walmart on Highway 43.

A tornado touched down on Spruell Farm on County Roads 35/36 in western Lawrence County. At this location, several small fertilizer containers were blown over, and one was blown for more than 1000 yards to the east-southeast. Further east in Mount Hope, trees were uprooted and branches snapped along County Road 23 between Mount Hope Baptist Church and Mount Hope School. Minor damage was noted to the bleachers at Mount Hope School as they were dragged a couple of feet from their original location. EF-0 damage was assessed at these locations with a maximum wind here of 80 mph.

A tree was knocked down on CR 89 at the Tennessee state line.

Quarter sized hail was reported at the corner of AL Highway 33 and AL Highway 157.

The tornado initially touched down just east of the Lauderdale-Limestone county line near the intersection of Union Hill Road and Shelton Road. Nearly all of the damage in northwest Limestone County consisted of snapped or uprooted trees, in a swath extending across Salem Minor Hill Road, Leggtown Road, and the Elk River. Significant tree damage was noted along Alabama Highway 127 and Veto Road north of Elkmont, where hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted. It was in this area where the tornado reached its maximum path width of 350 yards. The tornado continued east-northeast, narrowly missing the Saturn I rocket at the Alabama Welcome Center on Interstate 65. Tree damage continued on Hardiman Lane east of I-65, but roof damage also occurred to single-family homes. Similar damage was observed on Puckett Lane and Oak Grove Road. There is evidence (both from radar and ground surveys) to suggest that the tornado had multiple vortices between Oak Grove Road and Valley Drive, as there are two distinct damage paths in this area. Again, much of the damage was to trees and roofs of single-family and manufactured homes, as well as small sheds and barns. The most severe damage by far occurred along Alabama Highway 251 and Gatlin Road, where one or two houses had their roofs and roofing structures almost completely torn off, and several more had most of their shingles torn off. Fortunately the residents had taken shelter in a nearby basement and none were injured. The tornado weakened quickly, snapping and uprooting trees as it moved across Mitchell Loop, Old Schoolhouse Road, and Alabama Highway 53. No evidence of damage was found east of Highway 53.

Golf ball sized hail was reported at the corner AL Highway 157 and AL Highway 24.

Sporadic tree damage was noted around the downtown area. Multiple trees were snapped and uprooted in this location, pulling down power lines and causing some minor damage |to roofs of homes as a result.

A tornado produced a cluster of damage near the intersection of Highway 36 and County Road 183. Farther east-southeast, trees were snapped and uprooted along the path near Speake School on Highway 36 just south of the intersection of County Road 81 and Highway 157. Due to the trees snapped at this location, the tornado was at its peak intensity, EF-1, with winds around 100 mph. The path width was approximately 50 yards. From there, the tornado lifted just southeast of Speake.

Trees were knocked down at Market and North Streets in Moulton.

Tree damage reported near Lester.

A tornado produced widespread tree damage (snapped and uprooted) along the path from near the intersection of County Road 55 and Summerford Rd to Wilhite Rd (east of I 65 on the the Cullman/Morgan Co border). The only structural damage to note was a couple small farm structures and sheds that were heavily damaged or destroyed adjacent to Evergreen Rd, consistent with EF-1 damage. Damage indicators became more widely scattered as it approached I-65, but several trees were observed damaged along Wilhite Rd.

Golf ball sized hail was reported in Neel.

A tornado produced EF-1 damage near Highway 25 between mile markers 25 and 26. The primary damage indicators were trees on both sides of highway. The beginning of the tornado damage was observed on the west side of Hwy 25 on the downslope |of an east-facing ridge. An extensive area of downed trees was noted along the slope as it approached the valley. As the tornado tracked east-northeast back up a west-facing slope along Hwy 25, trees were uprooted across the road and a distinctive cyclonic circulation approximately 200 yd wide was observed. Due to inaccessible locations,|the damage assessment team approximated the touchdown near the mid-slope|of the ridge west of Hwy 25 and the lifting point on lower half of the slope on the east side of Hwy 25.

Grapefruit sized hail was reported.

Trees were knocked down on Highway 127 in Elkmont.

Tree branches were knocked down, trees split and signs blown over near the Alabama Welcome Center on I-65.

Tennis ball sized hail was reported on Rolin Hollow Road.

Trees were knocked down and minor roof damage was done to homes on Rolin Hollow Road.

Structural damage was reported near Sweet Springs and Oak Grove Roads south of Ardmore.

A tornado continued from Morgan into Cullman County crossing CR 1375 and CR 1442 and lifted just south of the East Fork of Flint Creek. A few trees and branches were snapped along this path.

A tornado continued from Morgan into Cullman County crossing CR 1375 and CR 1442 and lifted just south of the East Fork of the Flint Creek. A few trees and branches were snapped along this path.

The tornado began near the intersection of Will Holt Road and Bobo Section Road where several large trees were snapped and uprooted. Significant damage occurred just east of this location, on Delynn Drive, where multiple trees were uprooted, some of which fell onto nearby homes. Minor damage continued east along Larkin Sullivan Road and Hills Chapel Road.

The rear flank downdraft also produced damage south of the tornado path along Bob Section Road. These winds snapped and uprooted trees and damaged a few sheds and farm buildings.

The most notable tornado damage occurred upon reaching Highway 231, where the tornado hit a building supply yard and nearby houses. More than a quarter of the shingles were removed from a single family home and a nearby tree was twisted apart. At the building supply store, metal roofing and siding covering the supplies were |completely removed and the underlying wooden support structure broken. The metal roofing was strewn across the street and into a field. Security video footage confirms the presence of a circulation of a rain-wrapped tornado. The tornado caused further shingle damage and snapped more trees across the highway near Walls Road and Leigh Ann Road, but the damage appears to diminish quickly beyond this point.

A funnel cloud was spotted through continuous lightning near Joppa.

Quarter sized hail was reported in downtown Arab.

Baseball sized hail was reported in southwest, central, south central and southeast Cullman. The swath of hail produced widespread damage to vehicles, roofs and other structures. Numerous residences were found to have tarps placed on them the day after the event due to the immense damages incurred.

Tennis ball sized hail was reported in Cullman.

Golf ball sized hail was reported at exit 308 on I-65.

Golf ball sized hail covered the ground.

Quarter sized hail was reported on Creek Path Road.

This giant hail stone is now the state of Alabama record as of 3/19/2018 for the largest diameter of 5.38 inches. The stone weighed 9.8 ounces, had a circumference of 13.75 inches and volume of 19.80 cubic inches. This fell as part of a large hail swath from northwest through central and into southeast Cullman County which contained numerous reports of tennis ball sized or larger hail.

Golf ball sized hail was reported in Holly Pond.

The tornado began west of Old Oneota Road and Dixie Dale Road. Numerous trees were |either snapped or uprooted along and adjacent to Old Oneota Road, indicative of 90 mph. More significant damage was noted on the west side of Ole Oneota Road where two chicken houses and a barn were destroyed. The team determined winds to be 112 mph, or a low-end EF-2. A second set of chicken houses were destroyed near Oneota |Cutoff Rd, however these were not as heavily as damaged. As the tornado tracked due east toward Hwy 75 , the most prevalent damage was snapped or uprooted trees. On the west side of Highway 75, damage was noted to a weak farm building. Numerous snapped or uprooted trees were observed along White Oak Road and east toward Whitesville Road. Structural damage was recorded on Whitesville Road to a third set of chicken houses. The tornado was estimated to lift just east of Whitesville Road before Walnut Street.

Golf ball sized hail was reported.