Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Alabama, December 27 to 29, 2024

An EF1 tornado began south of Dees in Mobile County west of Grand|Bay Wilmer Road. A radar indicated tornado debris signature began|in the adjacent forest, tracking northeast across Grand Bay Wilmer|Road. As it crossed the road, multiple pine trees were snapped|midway up the trunk along with a couple smaller pine tree snaps|near the base of the trunk. One tree had fallen across power|lines and brought them down. The smaller snaps to the south were|likely thanks to the supercells RFD with the primary damage being|near the bridge here. The tornado weakened somewhat as it|continued northeast across Balford and Ballard Roads. Here some|metal roofing material was tossed to the west with multiple large|tree limbs broken. The tornado then continued northeast across Ben|Hamilton Road impacting a pond north of the road. This pond had|multiple trees that were uprooted with a tree snapped low. The|tornado went through a majority of forest and open fields between|Ben Hamilton Road and Dawes Road, additionally impacting a|neighborhood with most notable damage being along the intersection|of Southern Oaks Trail and Dawes Road. Damage was mostly|comprised of large tree limbs broken off and minor roofing damage|to homes. There were additional reports of sheds flipped|over/moved and a piece of metal breaking a window of one of the|homes.

A brief EF0 tornado began just west of the Mobile Regional Airport solely in forest based on radar indicated tornado debris signature. This tornado continued east across the southern portions of the airport property. No visible damage was evident on the western side of the property, however on the south side of the circulation numerous palm fronds were removed and thrown east-northeast. At Joseph Drawns Drive, a large oak branch was snapped off to the south of the longer-term parking. The entry and exit gates to the parking were broken and surged westward indicating the tornado crossed on the south side of this location. The tornado likely crossed over or just on the south side of the USPS building throwing numerous small to large tree limbs onto the adjacent road and knocking over a light pole on the backside of the USPS property. The Davis weather station located at the NWS Mobile office measured a peak wind gust of 55mph on the south side of the tornado circulation. There is no indication the tornado continued east of the airport, and the end point is estimated at the last known damage location.

A very brief EF0 tornado occurred on the University of South Alabama campus. This tornado began near USA South Drive where some outdoor portable restrooms were blown over facing due northwest to west along with some metal fence barricades. The tornado continued northwest to USA North Drive where more metal fence barricades were knocked over facing west. A single softwood tree uproot also occurred here facing due north. A radar indicated tornado debris signature was also evident at this location lending credence to this damage being done by a tornado.

High winds downed a flag pole at church along with several trees in the road.

An EF1 tornado began on the north side of I-65 along Charlie|Dawson Road where several trees were leaning over the roadway|with small tree branches taken off. As the tornado continued|northeast, it crossed Priscilla Lane continuing to knock off|small and large tree branches. The tornado strengthened as it|continued to the northeast reaching Eric Odom Road. Here multiple|trees had their tops snapped off with some trees snapped midway|up. The tornado continued to parallel this segment of Eric Odom|Road, continuing to do EF1 tree damage snapping and uprooting|multiple pines. The tornado began to occlude northward impacting|small cabins and snapping multiple trees in the adjacent forest|to the west of Barnett Highway. The tornado then approached|Grissett Bridge Road, continuing to snap multiple pines and|taking out a majority of a tree stand just south of this road.|It's probable the tornado continued northward as it finished out|the occlusion process, however there was limited road access|beyond this location. High resolution satellite imagery will be|needed to determine the exact start and end points for this|tornado when it becomes available.

An EF0 tornado began along Highway 41 north of Wesley Road. Along|this road trees were uprooted facing due north, with some of the|trees on the eastern side of the road uprooted laying due west.|The next location ground survey crew were able to reach was along|Highway 84 east of Repton. Here some more tree uproots occurred.|It's possible the tornado did more damage to the southwest,|however given the intermittent damage path and limited road|network made it difficult to assess. It is possible this tornado|began sooner and/or ended later than the current start and end|points have, and this will be fine-tuned as high-resolution|satellite imagery becomes available.

Measured at the Clarke County EMA office. Three buildings next to the county courthouse also have damage, including the roof off one of the businesses.

The tornado touched down a quarter of a mile south of County Road 5 and Old Federal Road junction, where a few trees were uprooted. The tornado continued to the north-northeast, uprooting a few more trees and shifting Bethany Baptist Church slightly off of its foundation. The tornado crossed into Conecuh County, moving just northeast of County Road 15, uprooting a few more trees before lifting. Special thanks to the Monroe and Conecuh County EMAs for their assistance with the survey.

The tornado touched down a quarter of a mile south of County Road 5 and Old Federal Road junction, where a few trees were uprooted. The tornado continued to the north-northeast, uprooting a few more trees and shifting Bethany Baptist Church slightly off of its foundation. The tornado crossed into Conecuh County, moving just northeast of County Road 15, uprooting a few more trees before lifting. Special thanks to the Monroe and Conecuh County EMAs for their assistance with the survey.

The tornado touched down a quarter of a mile south of County Road 5 and Old Federal Road junction, where a few trees were uprooted. The tornado continued to the north-northeast, uprooting a few more trees and shifting Bethany Baptist Church slightly off of its foundation. The tornado crossed into Conecuh County, moving just northeast of County Road 15, uprooting a few more trees before lifting. Special thanks to the Monroe and Conecuh County EMAs for their assistance with the survey.

The tornado touched down a quarter of a mile south of County Road 5 and Old Federal Road junction, where a few trees were uprooted. The tornado continued to the north-northeast, uprooting a few more trees and shifting Bethany Baptist Church slightly off of its foundation. The tornado crossed into Conecuh County, moving just northeast of County Road 15, uprooting a few more trees before lifting. Special thanks to the Monroe and Conecuh County EMAs for their assistance with the survey.

The tornado touched town just west of County Road 4, where several trees were snapped or uprooted, and a trailer was tossed. The tornado moved to the northeast, snapping more trees along its path. As the tornado moved across Bookers Mill Road, dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted. In this location, the metal roof of 3 log cabins was peeled back, and a chapel was shifted off of its foundation. The tornado continued on its northeasterly path, crossing County Road 30 and County Road 32, snapping or uprooting more trees. The tornado lifted just west of State Highway 83.

Update 2/26/2025: Extended the start point of the tornado southwest solely within forested regions west of County Road 4 based on Sentinel satellite imagery depicting a narrow path of forest damage. This connects with the tornado track surveyed downstream by ground survey crews.

The tornado touched down along McNeil Road just east of Furlong|Creek, where numerous trees were snapped. The tornado continued|to the northeast, crossing McNeil Road, continuing to snap or|uproot trees along its path. One tree fell on a home, causing|significant. The tornado continued to the northeast towards Mt|Pisgah Road, snapping and uprooting numerous trees along its|path. The tornado appears to have lifted just northeast of Mt|Pisgah Road. Special thanks to the Butler County EMA for their|assistance with this survey.

A very brief EF0 tornado touched down east of Dauphin Island|Parkway impacting a home adjacent to Mobile Bay. The home|sustained damage to the back patio with the southernmost wall|being pulled out and deposited to the south along with the|contents of the patio. Large tree limbs were also knocked down in|the adjacent tree line to the south and along the driveway.|Outdoor furniture from the home to the south was thrown northward|around the tornado circulation before the tornado moved over the|water. Here it impacted the three adjacent piers doing minor|cosmetic damage to each pier. A fence was also blown over towards|the northwest on the property located north of the tornado path.

High winds snapped a tree and damaged a house.

A tornado first touched down in a field approximately 100 yards|to the west of a home to the southwest of the intersection of N E|7th Street and E Greenwood Road in Summerdale. The tornado|destroyed a shed roof structure then struck the single family|brick home. Significant damage to the roof was observed with|destruction of a roof gable on both the front and rear of the|home and the roof decking was lifted and removed from the roof|framing resulting in large holes in a large portion of the roof.|A rear roofed screened patio was completely destroyed and a front|porch was heavily damaged. Large branches of two oak trees were|broken and deposited into the yard. There was also a large|section of fencing that was downed at this house and a|neighboring yard just to the south. The tornado was rated an EF-|1 at this location with winds of 95 mph. The tornado only briefly|touched down and was very intermittent along the entire 2.25 mile|track. EF-0 tornado damage occurred at the Graystone RV Park at|the intersection of E Greenwood Road and the Baldwin Beach|Express and to the northeast of the Baldwin Beach Express at a|mobile home community along County Road 38 S. A recreational|vehicle was blown over onto a pickup truck damaging both the RV|and a nearby pickup truck. A few additional recreation vehicles|were also shifted slightly from their resting locations. There|was minor tree damage at this location as well. The tornado|produced 70 to 75 mph winds at this location. To the northeast at|the mobile home community several mobile homes had damage to the|skirting along the bottom of the mobile homes. In addition, loose|objects to include patio furniture and children's toys were|thrown about. The tornado produced winds to 65 mph at the mobile|home community. The tornado again lifted and then again touchdown|to the northeast and struck a metal outbuilding removing large|portions of the metal roofing and bending and twisting the|roofing and side support beams. A large section of the metal roof|was also launched 75 yards over a nearby home and landed in the|front yard. A small tractor combine was also overturned. The|tornado had intensified at this location and was rated as an EF-|1 with winds estimated at 95 mph. The tornado lifted and rapidly|dissipated in an open field just beyond the damaged metal|outbuilding.