F1 tornado, Helena to Columbiana, Alabama, April 30, 2005

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F1

Date

April 30, 2005

Touchdown

5:04 AM CDT (10:04 UTC)

Path length

11.6 miles (18.7 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$400,000

County

Shelby County

Touchdown point

33.270, -86.880

Lift-off point

33.380, -86.750

Record number

75

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed the damage that affected the Helena, Alabaster, Pelham, and Chelsea areas early Saturday morning. The tornado has been rated an F1 with winds estimated around 75 miles an hour. The tornado first touched down just west of County Road 93 near the Cahaba Wildlife Management Area in Helena. The tornado moved generally eastward and crossed County Road 17, County Road 58, US 31, Interstate 65 and County Road 11 before ending near County Road 39. The tornado damage path was approximately 11.6 miles long and 100 yards wide at its widest point. The tornado was on the ground from approximately 504 AM CDT to 518 AM CDT. The initial damage was minor with only a few trees uprooted or snapped off west of County Road 17 in Helena. As the tornado crossed County Road 17, it intensified and caused its most significant damage. The most concentrated and significant damage occurred near Scurlock Road and County Road 17 then eastward along County Road 58 to just past County Road 95. Several subdivisions were affected including Braelinn Village, Amberley Woods, Navajo Hills, and Port South. Numerous homes suffered shingle and minor roof damage along with a few broken windows. Many trees and power lines were either blown down or snapped off. Power was unavailable for several hours due to downed power poles. A few homes suffered major damage due to fallen trees. Several automobiles and outbuildings were destroyed. A municipal park in Helena sustained minor damage. As the tornado crossed US 31 near Walmart, several large trees and signs were blown down or snapped off. A few homes just east of US 31 were damaged from fallen trees. For the remainder of the tornadoes path, the damage was relatively minor and mainly affected trees. The tornado crossed the Weatherly subdivision and the Ballantrae Golf Course and subdivision before ending just east of County Road 39 near Hidden Ridge. Begin: 33 16.08/86 53.41 End: 33 16.45/86 41.34

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed the damage just northeast of Columbiana. It has been determined that the damage was the result of a tornado. The tornado has been rated an F1 onthe Fujita Damage Scale with winds estimated around 75 miles an hour. The tornado touched down approximately 3 miles northeast of downtown Columbiana, just west of County Road 25 across thetrain tracks. The tornado snapped off and uprooted numerous trees and knocked over several powerpoles along its fairly short path. Some of the trees were several feet in diameter. Fallen treessignificantly damaged one home, produced minor damage to a few other homes, destroyed at least 4 vehicles, and destroyed several outbuildings. The tornado crossed County Road 25 and headed eastwardacross mainly rural farmland. The tornado ended near the intersection of Davis Road and County Road5 where a garage sustained roof damage and one large tree was uprooted. The tornado damage path wasapproximately 2.2 miles long and 150 yards wide at its widest point. The tornado started at 522 AM CDT and ended at 523 AM CDT. Begin: 33 12.98/86 35.39 End: 33 13.13/86 33.20

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 05:30 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Alabaster (EET), 17 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 10:04 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2005 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

12 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.