Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2010

EF0 tornado, Malcolm, Alabama, April 8, 2010

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Washington County on April 8, 2010, touching down at 7:15 AM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody.

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
April 8, 2010
Touchdown
7:15 AM CDT (12:15 UTC)
Lifted
7:18 AM CDT (12:18 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Washington County
Touchdown point
31.168, -88.041
Lift-off point
31.170, -88.040
Record number
1004080615-01

The damage survey

1 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MOB, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 75 mph.

  • Storm Data narrative describes several pine trees snapped or uprooted with winds around 75mph.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

A brief EF-0 tornado occurred in Washington County. The tornado path was 300 yards and the width was 75-100 yards. Maximum winds were 75 mph.

A brief EF-0 tornado occurred on Happy Hill Road...just west of Highway 43. The tornado only affected one residence...producing minor damage. the most notable damage to the home was a blown out window...a damaged doorway...and minor roof damage. Portions of wood fencing was also damaged and patio furniture was thrown about. several pine trees were either snapped or downed as a result of the tornado. A few telephone poles were also damaged just to the northeast of the home on Happy Hill Road. The tornado path was 300 yards and the width was 75-100 yards. Maximum winds were 75 mph.

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

The warnings

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 forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 05:47 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 radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 12:13 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
12:15 UTCTORNADO 01 Ne FairfordWashington, ALA BRIEF EF-0 TORNADO OCCURRED ON HAPPY HILL ROAD...JUST WEST OF HIGHWAY 43. THE TORNADO ONLY AFFECTED ONE RESIDENCE...PRODUCING MINOR DAMAGE. THE MOST NOTABLE DAMAGE TO THE HOME WAS A BLOWN OUT WINDOW...A DAMAGED DOORWAY

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2010 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 8, 2010

7 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 84:42 AM CDTEF0Blount, AL0.250$15,000
April 812:10 PM CDTEF0Coffee, AL3.075
April 82:38 PM EDTEF0Gadsden, FL1.075
April 84:50 PM EDTEF1Morgan, GA1.850$218,000
April 85:01 PM EDTEF0Oconee, SC0.730$5,000
April 85:26 PM EDTEF1Anderson, SC2.075$100,000
April 811:11 PM EDTEF0Beaufort, SC0.120$40,000

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.