Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2007

EF0 tornado, Whitsitt to Scott Station, Alabama, February 13, 2007

From Whitsitt to Scott Station, this EF0 tornado ran 6.5 miles across Hale and Perry counties on February 13, 2007, touching down at 5:01 PM CST and reaching 25 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $55,000 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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. 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.

  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.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
February 13, 2007
Touchdown
5:01 PM CST (23:01 UTC)
Lifted
5:13 PM CST (23:13 UTC)
On the ground
12 minutes
Path length
6.5 miles (10.5 km)
Path width
25 yards (23 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$55,000
Counties
Hale and Perry counties
Touchdown point
32.593, -87.572
Lift-off point
32.575, -87.460
Record number
0702131701-01

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 far eastern Hale County just west of the town of Newbern, and then traveled east-southeast. The most extensive damage occurred in the Newbern area, on Baby Road. Several old barns and metal sheds were lightly damaged, and numerous trees were downed, including at least one that fell onto a mobile home. The tornado then continued on into extreme western Perry County.|

The tornado that touched down near Newbern, in Hale County, crossed into far western Perry County. Damage in Perry County was sporadic and light, mainly downed trees.

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

The warnings

30 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:31 UTC, 30 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)ExpiredProductOffice
18:57 UTC23:18 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchBMX
22:31 UTC23:15 UTCTornado WarningBMX
22:37 UTC23:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMX
22:53 UTC23:21 UTCTornado WarningBMX
23:18 UTC00:08 UTCTornado WatchBMX

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

11.0 hours before the tornado, 95 km from the path. February 13, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2007-02-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -95925, lifted condensation level 837 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2007-02-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 263 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 36 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 00:00Z

1.0 hours after it, 95 km from the path. February 14, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2007-02-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 429 joules per kilogram, CIN -19, lifted condensation level 767 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2007-02-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 163 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 40 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:01 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
21:58 UTCHAIL 0.755 S GainesvilleSumter, ALPENNY SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED SOUTH OF GAINESVILLE ALONG STATE HIGHWAY 39.
22:23 UTCHAIL 0.75BoligeeGreene, ALPENNY SIZE OR LARGER HAIL WAS OBSERVED NEAR BOLIGEE ALONG INTERSTATE 20.
22:45 UTCHAIL 1.75FostersTuscaloosa, ALGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL WAS OBSERVED NEAR FOSTERS.
22:48 UTCHAIL 2.75NewbernHale, ALBASEBALL SIZED HAIL NEAR NEWBERN.
22:53 UTCTORNADOW GreensboroHale, ALTORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND JUST WEST OF GREENSBORO.
22:56 UTCHAIL 13 S GreensboroHale, ALQUARTER SIZED HAIL 3 MILES SOUTH OF GREENSBORO.
23:00 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD1 N NewbernHale, ALFUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED JUST NORTH OF NEWBERN.
23:05 UTCHAIL 0.5NewbernHale, ALMARBLE SIZED HAIL IN NEWBERN.
23:06 UTCHAIL 111 Sw MarionPerry, ALQUARTER SIZE HAIL FELL ACROSS WESTERN PERRY COUNTY.
23:10 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD4 S MoundvilleHale, ALROTATING DEBRIS 1 MILE SOUTH OF HAVANA JUNCTION...ON HIGHWAY 69.
23:10 UTCTORNADO4 S MoundvilleHale, ALROTATING DEBRIS 1 MILE SOUTH OF HAVANA JUNCTION...ON HIGHWAY 69.
23:13 UTCHAIL 1.753 S DuncanvilleTuscaloosa, ALQUARTER TO GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL 3 MILES SOUTH OF DUNCANVILLE.
23:23 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 S MarionPerry, ALTRRES WERE BLOWN DOWN SOUTH OF MARION NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF STATE HIGHWAY 5 AND COUNTY ROAD 38.
23:23 UTCHAIL 13 E DuncanvilleTuscaloosa, ALQUARTER SIZED HAIL AT THE COUNTY LINE GROCERY...NEAR THE BIBB...TUSCALOOSA COUNTY LINE.
23:44 UTCHAIL 14 N SelmaDallas, ALQUARTER SIZED HAIL 4 MILES NORTH OF SELMA.
23:47 UTCTORNADO6 Nw CentrevilleBibb, ALPOSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR COUNTY ROAD 1 AND HIGHWAY 82...TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN...3 HOMES DAMAGED.
23:50 UTCHAIL 1.757 Nw BrentBibb, ALGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL FELL ALONG US HIGHWAY 82 IN WESTERN BIBB COUNTY. SEVERAL VEHICLES WERE DENTED AND DAMAGED FROM THE HAIL.
00:15 UTCHAIL 2.752 N SelmaDallas, ALBASEBALL SIZED HAIL IN VALLEY GRANDE.
00:15 UTCTORNADO1 Nw CentrevilleBibb, ALTWO MOBILE HOMES DESTROYED...SEVERAL HOMES WITH ROOF DAMAGE. NO INJURIES.
00:15 UTCTORNADO2 Nw CentrevilleBibb, ALLARGE TREES DOWN AND SEVERAL MOBILE HOMES DAMAGED NEAR HIGHWAY 82 IN EOLINE
00:58 UTCHAIL 0.755 S GainesvilleSumter, ALPENNY SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED SOUTH OF GAINESVILLE ALONG STATE HIGHWAY 39.

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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 1312:10 AM CSTEF1Lafayette Parish, LA2.250$250,000
February 1312:36 AM CSTEF2Saint Martin Parish, LA4.33003$1.5 million
February 131:03 AM CSTEF0Iberia Parish, LA0.525$30,000
February 131:25 AM CSTEF0Vermilion Parish, LA0.525$40,000
February 132:55 AM CSTEF2Jefferson Parish, LA2.3509$2.0 million
February 133:03 AM CSTEF2Orleans Parish, LA6.55015$2.0 million
February 133:10 AM CSTEF2Orleans Parish, LA1.350110$1.0 million
February 133:52 AM CSTEF1Smith, MS3.775$300,000
February 134:13 AM CSTEF0Jefferson Davis, MS3.075$5,000
February 134:45 AM CSTEF0Pearl River, MS0.325$2,000
February 137:20 AM CSTEF0Jackson, MS0.325
February 133:05 PM ESTEF1Liberty, FL0.350$15,000
February 135:47 PM ESTEF1McCormick, SC16.0200$4,000
February 135:55 PM ESTEF1Edgefield, SC15.360
February 135:10 PM CSTEF1Bibb, AL9.7400$105,000
February 136:28 PM ESTEF1Screven, GA0.6351$9,000
February 135:48 PM CSTEF0Bibb, AL7.5250$10,000
February 137:01 PM ESTEF1Allendale, SC0.030$3,000
February 136:22 PM CSTEF1Autauga, AL1.1200$10,000
February 137:27 PM ESTEF0Bamberg, SC2.040

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.