Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2007
EF1 tornado, Hagler to Ashby, Alabama, February 13, 2007
From Hagler to Ashby, this EF1 tornado ran 9.7 miles across Bibb and Tuscaloosa counties on February 13, 2007, touching down at 5:10 PM CST and reaching 400 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $105,000 of property damage.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 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.
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.
The record
- Rating
- EF1
- Date
- February 13, 2007
- Touchdown
- 5:10 PM CST (23:10 UTC)
- Lifted
- 5:29 PM CST (23:29 UTC)
- On the ground
- 19 minutes
- Path length
- 9.7 miles (15.6 km)
- Path width
- 400 yards (366 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $105,000
- Counties
- Bibb and Tuscaloosa counties
- Touchdown point
- 33.013, -87.399
- Lift-off point
- 33.014, -87.233
- Record number
- 0702131710-01
What the Weather Service recorded
An intense winter storm and passing cold front caused several tornadoes and numerous severe thunderstorms across Central Alabama.
The tornado touched down in southeastern Tuscaloosa County in the Talladega National Forest, and from there moved nearly due east. The heaviest damage was near the intersection of County Road 1 and US Highway 82 on the Bibb and Tuscaloosa county line. Several trailers, homes, barns and sheds were damaged along the path. Additionally, numerous trees were snapped off and downed.
The tornado that touched down in Tuscaloosa County moved eastward into Bibb County, eventually lifting just north of Eoline.
The tornado touched down just west of County Road 26, north of State Highway 25, and continued across the Six Mile Community, before eventually lifting just west of Ashby. This tornado did not cause widespread damage along the whole path, but there was evidence of sporadic building and tree damage along the entire path.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
47 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:23 UTC, 47 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:15 UTC.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 18:57 UTC and running to 23:18 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18:57 UTC | 23:18 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | BMX |
| 22:09 UTC | 23:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX |
| 22:23 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | BMX |
| 22:31 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | BMX |
| 23:12 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX |
| 23:13 UTC | 23:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | BMX |
| 23:18 UTC | 00:08 UTC | Tornado Watch | BMX |
| 23:29 UTC | 23:47 UTC | Tornado Warning | BMX |
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 forecast that day
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 19:59 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 air that afternoon
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.
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 12:00Z
11.2 hours before the tornado, 53 km from the path. February 13, 2007.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -95925 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 837 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 263 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 315 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.9 K/km
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 00:00Z
0.8 hours after it, 53 km from the path. February 14, 2007.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 429 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -19 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 508 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 767 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 163 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 284 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.5
- Supercell composite
- 2.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.8 K/km
The surface observations
Tuscaloosa Municipal (TCL), 36 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:53 UTC | 68 | 54 | 160° 5 kt | 1002 | ||
| 22:53 UTC | 65 | 57 | 180° 11 kt | 1001 | -RA | |
| 23:14 UTC | 62.6 | 57.2 | 260° 9 kt | 1002.7 | +RA | |
| 23:28 UTC | 60.8 | 57.2 | 280° 13 kt | 1003 | -RA | |
| 23:44 UTC | 60.8 | 57.2 | 270° 8 kt | 1003.7 | ||
| 23:53 UTC | 61 | 55 | 270° 14 kt | 20 | 1004.1 | |
| 00:53 UTC | 59 | 51 | 270° 16 kt | 20 | 1005.1 | |
| 01:04 UTC | 57.2 | 51.8 | 260° 12 kt | 20 | 1005.1 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:10 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.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:45 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | 3 S Tuscaloosa | Tuscaloosa, AL | PENNY SIZED HAIL JUST SOUTH OF TUSCALOOSA. |
| 22:45 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Fosters | Tuscaloosa, AL | GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL WAS OBSERVED NEAR FOSTERS. |
| 22:48 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | Tuscaloosa | Tuscaloosa, AL | PENNY AND DIME SIZED HAIL ON COUNTY ROAD 38...4 MILES WEST OF NORTHSIDE HIGH SCHOOL |
| 22:48 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | Newbern | Hale, AL | BASEBALL SIZED HAIL NEAR NEWBERN. |
| 22:52 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 5 S Tuscaloosa | Tuscaloosa, AL | GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL IN TALORSVILLE. |
| 22:53 UTC | TORNADO | W Greensboro | Hale, AL | TORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND JUST WEST OF GREENSBORO. |
| 22:55 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 1 S Tuscaloosa | Tuscaloosa, AL | BASEBALL SIZED HAIL JUST SOUTH OF TUSCALOOSA. |
| 22:56 UTC | HAIL 1 | 3 S Greensboro | Hale, AL | QUARTER SIZED HAIL 3 MILES SOUTH OF GREENSBORO. |
| 23:00 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 1 N Newbern | Hale, AL | FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED JUST NORTH OF NEWBERN. |
| 23:05 UTC | HAIL 0.5 | Newbern | Hale, AL | MARBLE SIZED HAIL IN NEWBERN. |
| 23:06 UTC | HAIL 1 | 11 Sw Marion | Perry, AL | QUARTER SIZE HAIL FELL ACROSS WESTERN PERRY COUNTY. |
| 23:10 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 4 S Moundville | Hale, AL | ROTATING DEBRIS 1 MILE SOUTH OF HAVANA JUNCTION...ON HIGHWAY 69. |
| 23:10 UTC | TORNADO | 4 S Moundville | Hale, AL | ROTATING DEBRIS 1 MILE SOUTH OF HAVANA JUNCTION...ON HIGHWAY 69. |
| 23:13 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 3 S Duncanville | Tuscaloosa, AL | QUARTER TO GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL 3 MILES SOUTH OF DUNCANVILLE. |
| 23:18 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | Tuscaloosa | Tuscaloosa, AL | PENNY SIZED HAIL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA CAMPUS. |
| 23:18 UTC | HAIL 2.5 | Tuscaloosa | Tuscaloosa, AL | TENNIS BALL SIZE HAIL AND POTENTIALLY LARGER FELL ON THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA CAMPUS. SEVERAL VEHICLES HAD BROKEN WINDOWS. |
| 23:23 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 S Marion | Perry, AL | TRRES WERE BLOWN DOWN SOUTH OF MARION NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF STATE HIGHWAY 5 AND COUNTY ROAD 38. |
| 23:23 UTC | HAIL 1 | 3 E Duncanville | Tuscaloosa, AL | QUARTER SIZED HAIL AT THE COUNTY LINE GROCERY...NEAR THE BIBB...TUSCALOOSA COUNTY LINE. |
| 23:47 UTC | HAIL 1 | 2 W Hueytown | Jefferson, AL | QUARTER SIZED HAIL IN OAK GROVE. |
| 23:47 UTC | TORNADO | 6 Nw Centreville | Bibb, AL | POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR COUNTY ROAD 1 AND HIGHWAY 82...TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN...3 HOMES DAMAGED. |
| 23:49 UTC | HAIL 1 | 2 W Hueytown | Jefferson, AL | QUARTER SIZED HAIL IN CONCORD. |
| 23:50 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 7 Nw Brent | Bibb, AL | GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL FELL ALONG US HIGHWAY 82 IN WESTERN BIBB COUNTY. SEVERAL VEHICLES WERE DENTED AND DAMAGED FROM THE HAIL. |
| 23:55 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | Bessemer | Jefferson, AL | PENNY SIZED HAIL IN BESSEMER. |
| 23:55 UTC | HAIL 1 | Hueytown | Jefferson, AL | QUARTER SIZED HAIL IN HUEYTOWN. |
| 23:59 UTC | HAIL 1 | 2 E Hueytown | Jefferson, AL | QUARTER SIZED HAIL IN MIDFIELD. |
| 00:00 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | 7 E Montevallo | Shelby, AL | NICKEL SIZE HAIL 7 MILES EAST OF MONTEVALLO |
| 00:05 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 1 E Hueytown | Jefferson, AL | FLOODED ROADS ON TIN MILL ROAD AND ALLISON BONNET PARKWAY. |
| 00:10 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | 1 E Hueytown | Jefferson, AL | PENNY SIZED HAIL ON TIN MILL ROAD AND ALLISON BONNET PARKWAY. |
| 00:10 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | Montevallo | Shelby, AL | PENNY SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED NEAR MONTEVALLO. |
| 00:10 UTC | HAIL 1 | Hoover | Jefferson, AL | QUARTER SIZED HAIL ON SHADES CREST ROAD AND HIGHWAY 150. |
| 00:15 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | Hoover | Jefferson, AL | PENNY SIZED HAIL ON ALFORD AVENUE...LORNA ROAD AND THE I-65...I-459 INTERCHANGE. |
| 00:15 UTC | HAIL 1 | Hoover | Jefferson, AL | DIME TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL NEAR THE KRISPY KREME IN HOOVER. |
| 00:15 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Nw Centreville | Bibb, AL | TWO MOBILE HOMES DESTROYED...SEVERAL HOMES WITH ROOF DAMAGE. NO INJURIES. |
| 00:15 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Nw Centreville | Bibb, AL | LARGE TREES DOWN AND SEVERAL MOBILE HOMES DAMAGED NEAR HIGHWAY 82 IN EOLINE |
| 00:17 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | Hoover | Jefferson, AL | PENNY SIZED HAIL IN BLUFF PARK. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2007 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of February 13, 2007
20 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 13 | 12:10 AM CST | EF1 | Lafayette Parish, LA | 2.2 | 50 | $250,000 | ||
| February 13 | 12:36 AM CST | EF2 | Saint Martin Parish, LA | 4.3 | 300 | 3 | $1.5 million | |
| February 13 | 1:03 AM CST | EF0 | Iberia Parish, LA | 0.5 | 25 | $30,000 | ||
| February 13 | 1:25 AM CST | EF0 | Vermilion Parish, LA | 0.5 | 25 | $40,000 | ||
| February 13 | 2:55 AM CST | EF2 | Jefferson Parish, LA | 2.3 | 50 | 9 | $2.0 million | |
| February 13 | 3:03 AM CST | EF2 | Orleans Parish, LA | 6.5 | 50 | 15 | $2.0 million | |
| February 13 | 3:10 AM CST | EF2 | Orleans Parish, LA | 1.3 | 50 | 1 | 10 | $1.0 million |
| February 13 | 3:52 AM CST | EF1 | Smith, MS | 3.7 | 75 | $300,000 | ||
| February 13 | 4:13 AM CST | EF0 | Jefferson Davis, MS | 3.0 | 75 | $5,000 | ||
| February 13 | 4:45 AM CST | EF0 | Pearl River, MS | 0.3 | 25 | $2,000 | ||
| February 13 | 7:20 AM CST | EF0 | Jackson, MS | 0.3 | 25 | |||
| February 13 | 3:05 PM EST | EF1 | Liberty, FL | 0.3 | 50 | $15,000 | ||
| February 13 | 5:47 PM EST | EF1 | McCormick, SC | 16.0 | 200 | $4,000 | ||
| February 13 | 5:55 PM EST | EF1 | Edgefield, SC | 15.3 | 60 | |||
| February 13 | 5:01 PM CST | EF0 | Hale, AL | 6.5 | 25 | $55,000 | ||
| February 13 | 6:28 PM EST | EF1 | Screven, GA | 0.6 | 35 | 1 | $9,000 | |
| February 13 | 5:48 PM CST | EF0 | Bibb, AL | 7.5 | 250 | $10,000 | ||
| February 13 | 7:01 PM EST | EF1 | Allendale, SC | 0.0 | 30 | $3,000 | ||
| February 13 | 6:22 PM CST | EF1 | Autauga, AL | 1.1 | 200 | $10,000 | ||
| February 13 | 7:27 PM EST | EF0 | Bamberg, SC | 2.0 | 40 |
What this means
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.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.