Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2009
EF0 tornado, Blount Spgs, Alabama, May 6, 2009
This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Blount County on May 6, 2009, touching down at 9:45 AM CDT and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $2,000 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 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
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
- EF0
- Date
- May 6, 2009
- Touchdown
- 9:45 AM CDT (14:45 UTC)
- Path length
- 0.1 miles (0.1 km)
- Path width
- 30 yards (27 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $2,000
- County
- Blount County
- Touchdown point
- 33.902, -86.894
- Lift-off point
- 33.902, -86.894
- Record number
- 0905060845-01
What the Weather Service recorded
An upper level disturbance and a nearby stationary front combined to produce numerous severe thunderstorms across Central Alabama, that included damaging winds, large hail, and several tornadoes.
The tornado briefly touched down along CR-5, approximately 2 miles west of Interstate 65. The tornado uprooted several trees in a relatively small concentrated area.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
1 minute of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 14:44 UTC, 1 minute before the tornado touched down, in force until 14:53 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 14:30 UTC and running to 17:52 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:05 UTC | 14:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | BMX |
| 09:50 UTC | 23:08 UTC | Flash Flood Watch | BMX |
| 09:54 UTC | 12:45 UTC | Flood Advisory | BMX |
| 12:37 UTC | 15:30 UTC | Flood Warning | BMX |
| 14:13 UTC | 15:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX |
| 14:30 UTC | 17:52 UTC | Tornado Watch | BMX |
| 14:44 UTC | 14:53 UTC | Tornado Warning | BMX |
| 15:08 UTC | 16:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX |
| 15:49 UTC | 19:45 UTC | Flood 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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 12:47 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
2.8 hours before the tornado, 81 km from the path. May 6, 2009.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1131 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -10 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1320 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 517 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 194 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 301 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.0
- Supercell composite
- 5.3
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.9 K/km
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 00:00Z
9.2 hours after it, 81 km from the path. May 7, 2009.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -354 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 445 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1514 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 178 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 262 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.8 K/km
The surface observations
Birmingham Municipal (BHM), 40 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:53 UTC | 71.6 | 66.2 | 180° 12 kt | 21 | 1013.9 | |
| 13:53 UTC | 73 | 67 | 200° 12 kt | 18 | 1014.2 | |
| 14:53 UTC | 74 | 67 | 190° 18 kt | 24 | 1014.6 | -RA |
| 15:05 UTC | 73.4 | 66.2 | 210° 17 kt | 23 | 1014.6 | -TSRA |
| 15:10 UTC | 73.4 | 66.2 | 250° 24 kt | 37 | 1015.6 | TSRA |
| 15:14 UTC | 69.8 | 64.4 | 230° 18 kt | 37 | 1016.3 | TSRA |
| 15:48 UTC | 66.2 | 62.6 | 180° 10 kt | 1015.2 | TS | |
| 15:53 UTC | 67 | 63 | 160° 7 kt | 1015.2 | TS | |
| 16:05 UTC | 66.2 | 62.6 | 180° 6 kt | 1015.2 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 14:42 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:43 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 3 | Snead | Blount, AL | HEAVY RAIN CAUSING URBAN FLOODING OF ROADWAYS.WATER OVER THE ROAD AND TELCO CONNECTION BOXES PARTIALLY UNDERWATER. |
| 13:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 W Moreland | Winston, AL | 4 TREES DOWN 2 MILES WEST OF MORELAND. |
| 13:58 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Lacon | Morgan, AL | TREE ACROSS ROAD ON WILHITE ROAD IN LACON. |
| 14:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Corona | Walker, AL | TREES UPROOTED ALONG MITCHELL MOUNTAIN ROAD. |
| 14:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Jasper | Walker, AL | TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN AND SOME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE REPORTED IN CITY OF JASPER. |
| 14:11 UTC | TORNADO 0 | Jasper | Walker, AL | TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN AND SOME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE REPORTED IN CITY OF JASPER. EF-0 TORNADO ON THE EAST SIDE OF JASPER. PATH LENGTH 3.26 MILES BY 200 YARDS WIDE. |
| 14:15 UTC | TORNADO | Cullman | Cullman, AL | TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTS A TORNADO CROSSING INTERSTATE 65 AT EXIT 310 IN CULLMAN. |
| 14:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Cordova | Walker, AL | CARS FLIPPED ON INTERSTATE 22 NEAR THE CORDOVA/PARRISH EXIT. |
| 14:20 UTC | TORNADO 1 | Se Cordova | Walker, AL | EF-1 TORNADO ON THE WEST SIDE OF CORDOVA. PATH LENGTH 1.03 MILES BY 300 YARDS WIDE. |
| 14:20 UTC | TORNADO | Se Cordova | Walker, AL | EF-1 TORNADO ON THE WEST SIDE OF CORDOVA. PATH LENGTH 1.03 MILES BY 300 YARDS WIDE. |
| 14:24 UTC | TORNADO | 2 S Smith Dam | Walker, AL | BRIEF TOUCHDOWN ALONG HIGHWAY 69. EF-0 TORNADO. PATH LENGTH 0.25 MILES BY 75 YARDS WIDE. |
| 14:25 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Sw Cullman | Cullman, AL | FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED ON CR 18 IN SW CULLMAN. |
| 14:32 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | Cullman | Cullman, AL | NICKEL SIZED HAIL AT COLT SPRINGS SCHOOL IN CULLMAN. |
| 14:33 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Cullman | Cullman, AL | WALL CLOUD REPORTED OVER WEST MAIN STREET IN CULLMAN. |
| 14:33 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Cullman | Cullman, AL | WALL CLOUD REPORTED OVER WEST MAIN STREET IN CULLMAN. |
| 14:38 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Arkadelphia | Cullman, AL | MOBILE HOME DAMAGED ALONG CR 18 AND 25 IN ARKADELPHIA. |
| 14:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Cordova | Walker, AL | CARS FLIPPED ON INTERSTATE 22 NEAR THE CORDOVA/PARRISH EXIT. |
| 14:45 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 3 Ne Arkadelphia | Blount, AL | TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN ON COUNTY ROAD 5, 2 MILES WEST OF INTERSTATE 65. EF-0 PATH LENGTH 0.05 MILES 30 YARDS WIDE. |
| 14:46 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 W Hayden | Blount, AL | TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN ON COUNTY ROAD 5, 2 MILES WEST OF INTERSTATE 65. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| 15:19 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | N Birmingham | Jefferson, AL | WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE OVER NORTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY. TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN NUMEROUS LOCATIONS. |
| 15:19 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | S Cleveland | Blount, AL | TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 79. |
| 15:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | S Oneonta | Blount, AL | TREE DOWN ON HWY 231 JUST SOUTH OF ONEONTA. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2009 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of May 6, 2009
21 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6 | 1:19 AM CDT | EF0 | Arkansas, AR | 4.4 | 25 | $5,000 | ||
| May 6 | 2:03 AM CDT | EF1 | Phillips, AR | 0.1 | 25 | $40,000 | ||
| May 6 | 3:34 AM CDT | EF1 | Coahoma, MS | 0.1 | 25 | $60,000 | ||
| May 6 | 4:52 AM CDT | EF1 | Drew, AR | 2.1 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| May 6 | 7:12 AM CDT | EF1 | Choctaw, MS | 7.6 | 500 | $350,000 | ||
| May 6 | 7:47 AM CDT | EF1 | Noxubee, MS | 5.0 | 500 | 2 | $300,000 | |
| May 6 | 8:20 AM CDT | EF1 | Pickens, AL | 1.0 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| May 6 | 8:25 AM CDT | EF1 | Lawrence, AL | 3.2 | 75 | $250,000 | ||
| May 6 | 8:31 AM CDT | EF1 | Pickens, AL | 1.3 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| May 6 | 8:42 AM CDT | EF0 | Morgan, AL | 0.7 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| May 6 | 8:48 AM CDT | EF1 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 0.5 | 100 | $65,000 | ||
| May 6 | 8:57 AM CDT | EF1 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 0.2 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| May 6 | 8:59 AM CDT | EF2 | Limestone, AL | 10.9 | 75 | $1.0 million | ||
| May 6 | 9:11 AM CDT | EF0 | Walker, AL | 3.4 | 200 | $850,000 | ||
| May 6 | 9:20 AM CDT | EF1 | Walker, AL | 1.0 | 300 | $260,000 | ||
| May 6 | 9:24 AM CDT | EF0 | Walker, AL | 0.2 | 75 | $25,000 | ||
| May 6 | 9:50 AM CDT | EF1 | Jefferson, AL | 0.4 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| May 6 | 4:55 PM PDT | EF1 | Umatilla, OR | 1.6 | 40 | $50,000 | ||
| May 6 | 6:15 PM PDT | EF0 | Wallowa, OR | 0.2 | 10 | $100,000 | ||
| May 6 | 10:25 PM EDT | EF0 | Carroll, VA | 1.5 | 20 | $10,000 | ||
| May 6 | 8:28 PM PDT | EF1 | Lincoln, WA | 3.4 | 30 | $30,000 |
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.