EF3 tornado, Drifton to Sipsey, Alabama, April 27, 2011

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   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 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

EF3

Date

April 27, 2011

Touchdown

5:18 AM CDT (10:18 UTC)

Lifted

5:36 AM CDT (10:36 UTC)

On the ground

18 minutes

Path length

18.9 miles (30.4 km)

Path width

375 yards (343 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

20

Property damage

$13 million

County

Walker County

Touchdown point

33.598, -87.328

Lift-off point

33.818, -87.132

Record number

1104270418-01

55 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF4. The highest wind the damage implies is 170 mph.

• Edge of EF1 trees, not in pic.
• Home completely destroyed. Cars moved about
• tossed uphill became airborne
• begin major damage just sw of here

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

A powerful storm system crossed the Southeast United States on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, resulting in a large and deadly tornado outbreak. This epic event broke the record for number of tornadoes in a day for the state of Alabama, becoming the most significant tornado outbreak in the state���s history. ||Central Alabama had two rounds of severe weather that day. During the early morning hours, a Quasi-Linear Convective System quickly moved across the northern half of the National Weather Service, Birmingham county warning area. Straight line winds of 90 mph (78kts) or greater and 11 tornadoes lead to widespread damage and power outages. During the afternoon, long-lived supercell thunderstorms produced long-track, strong and violent tornadoes. Destruction and loss of life across many towns and communities was devastating. ||The hardest hit areas included Shottsville and Hackleburg, both in Marion County, where winds of 160 mph and 210 mph respectively, caused unimagineable damage. Cordova, in Walker County, was hit twice; by a tornado along the Quasi-Linear Convective System during the early morning hours and again in the afternoon by a long-track EF4 tornado. A long track tornado moved across the city of Tuscaloosa and the western suburbs of Birmingham, resulting in the complete destruction of whole neighborhoods and numerous injuries and fatalities in those heavily populated areas. The same parent supercell produced another violent tornado in east Central Alabama as it tracked across St. Clair and Calhoun Counties, resulting in additional fatalities and incredible damage to a number of neighborhoods. Another violent EF4 tornado tracked across portions of Elmore and Tallapoosa Counties, including Lake Martin, destroying numerous homes and a large section of a mobile home park. ||Most of the violent tornadoes from this day were captured on video by a number of people, including storm spotters and chasers, as well as numerous television news crews and remotely controlled web-enabled video cameras. This allowed unprecedented coverage and viewing of this historic event in real time from people worldwide.

A tornado developed along a Quasi-Linear Convective System and touched down in rural southwestern Walker County, near the Fairview community. The tornado moved north northeast through Cordova before lifting near Lynns Park. The tornado touched down southwest of CR 6 and rapidly intensified to an EF3 rating with winds of 140 mph. Along Horseshoe Bend, a home was completely leveled, where it swept the foundation clean of the structure and debris. The tornado continued north northeast through the Richardson subdivision and across Pleasantville Road. It destroyed at least two single-wide manufactured homes. The tornado crossed US Hwy 269 where it weakened to an EF2 with winds of 120 mph and moved through the Aldridge community, where several homes were damaged, large trees were uprooted, and another single-wide manufactured home was tossed and obliterated. In Cordova, the tornado caused significant roof and parapet damage to brick buildings in the downtown area. The tornado crossed Old US Hwy 78 just east of the Mulberry Fork, where it snapped and uprooted trees and caused minor structural damage. The tornado continued northeast and dissipated south of County Road 22, less than a mile north of Old US Hwy 78. A second tornado, with winds of 140 mph, tracked through Cordova during the afternoon of the same day (between 1535 and 1605 CST) and caused more significant structural damage.

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

11 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 10:07 UTC, 11 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 10:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 07:26 UTC and running to 11:20 UTC.

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 High Risk, with a 0.30 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 06:10 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.

NWS Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 27, 3:31 AM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes earlier.

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
331 AM CDT WED APR 27 2011

...SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK LIKELY TODAY...

.DISCUSSION...

THE FIRST WAVE OF STORMS IS QUICKLY APPROACHING WEST CENTRAL
ALABAMA THIS MORNING...PROMPTING WHAT WILL LIKELY BE THE FIRST IN
MULTIPLE WATCHES TODAY. LINE OF STORMS IS MOVING INTO AN UNSTABLE
AIRMASS WITH CAPES BETWEEN 500-1000J/KG...AND VERY LITTLE CIN. LOW
LEVEL HELICITY VALUES ALSO INCREASING AHEAD OF THE LINE. STORMS
SHOULD MAINTAIN SEVERITY...WITH ROTATING EMBEDDED SUPERCELLS...AS IT
MOVES INTO CENTRAL ALABAMA...TAKING A MORE NORTHEASTERLY TURN LATER
THIS MORNING.

BIG QUESTION IS...HOW DOES THIS ACTIVITY IMPACT THE POTENTIAL FOR
WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER AND TORNADOES THIS AFTERNOON? UNTIL WE SEE
HOW THE CURRENT CONVECTION PROGRESSES ACROSS THE AREA AND WHAT
SORT OF AIRMASS IT LEAVES BEHIND...ITS A FORECAST WAITING GAME.

WITH THAT SAID...EXPECT THIS CURRENT ACTIVITY TO MAINLY AFFECT THE
NORTHWESTERN THIRD OF THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE EARLY MORNING
HOURS. THESE STORMS...ASSOCIATED COLD POOL...AND CLOUD COVER WILL
ESSENTIALLY KEEP MUCH OF CENTRAL ALABAMA STABLE THROUGH THE MORNING.
CLOUDS WILL BEGIN TO BREAK UP...SURFACE TEMPS WARM AND DEWPOINTS
INCREASE TO AROUND 70 ACROSS A LARGE PORTION OF THE AREA BY MID
MORNING. CURRENT FORECAST SOUNDINGS BREAK THE PRESENT CAP BY 18Z.
WITH INCREASING SHEAR VALUES AND APPROACH OF MID AND UPPER LEVEL JET
MAXES...EXPECT SUPERCELL DEVELOPMENT BY EARLY AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY
SOUTH OF LOCATIONS WHICH RECEIVE RAIN THIS MORNING. ONCE STORMS
BEGIN TO FIRE...ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY AHEAD OF THE
APPROACHING COLD FRONT...WHICH IS EXPECTED TO PUSH INTO THE
NORTHWEST AROUND 00Z AND EXIT THE SOUTHEAST AROUND 07-08Z. EVERYONE
SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TODAY TO THE CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

QUIETER AND COOLER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE END OF THE
WEEK. CURRENTLY...THE NEXT CHANCE OF RAIN COMES MONDAY.

14

&&

.AVIATION...06Z TAF DISCUSSION.

THE EASIEST PART OF THIS FORECAST WILL BE THE WINDS. LOOK FOR THE
WINDS TO BEGIN A STEADY RISE OVERNIGHT WITH JUST PLAIN BREEZY
CONDITIONS BY LATE MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON. WINDS MAY GUST TO
35 KTS AT TIMES IN THE AFTERNOON...AND THIS IS AHEAD OF ANY
CONVECTION.

FOR THE REST OF THE FORECAST...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IS ALREADY
INCREASING RAPIDLY AND LOW STRATUS CLOUDS HAVE ALREADY MOVED INTO
TOI. THIS WILL MOVE NORTHWARD AND IMPACT ALL SITES BY 8Z. LOOK FOR
EITHER PREVAILING OR TEMPO IFR CEILINGS THROUGH 15Z. THE WINDS
SHOULD PREVENT MOST PLACES FROM EXPERIENCING ANY VIS BR PROBLEMS.
CEILINGS WILL IMPROVE AFTER 15Z AND MAY SEE A PRETTY LARGE WINDOW OF
VFR CONDITIONS HERE DURING THE AFTERNOON. ONLY TO DECREASE ONCE THE
WEATHER MOVES.

SPEAKING OF WEATHER...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE WEST OF THE
AREA THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. EXPECT MOST OF THE ACTIVITY TO
REMAIN NORTH AND WEST OF TCL TO BHM SO DID NOT INCLUDE FOR NOW. FOR
THE REST OF THE PERIOD A LARGE THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX AND THE
ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED AS EARLY AS
15Z WEST. MENTIONED CB AT THIS TIME...BUT A POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER
OUTBREAK IS POSSIBLE INCLUDING STRONG LONG-LIVED TORNADOES AFTER
18Z.  DID TRY TO TIME THE SQUALL LINE AT THE TAIL END OF THE
PERIOD...BUT EVEN THAT WILL LIKELY CHANGE WITH THE NEXT UPDATES.

NOTICE...KEET TAF WILL HAVE (AMD LTD TO VIS WIND AND WX) AMENDED TO
THE END OF THE FORECAST UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE CEILOMETER DATA
WILL BE GOING THROUGH NUMEROUS TESTS AND MONITORED FOR ACCURACY.

16

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GADSDEN     84  50  69  47  76 /  90  60  10   0   0
ANNISTON    86  53  73  50  77 /  70  80  10   0   0
BIRMINGHAM  83  50  75  52  79 /  90  60  10   0   0
TUSCALOOSA  85  49  76  51  80 /  80  50  10   0   0
CALERA      82  53  74  51  80 /  70  60  10   0   0
AUBURN      84  54  73  53  78 /  50  80  10   0   0
MONTGOMERY  88  56  79  52  81 /  60  70  10   0   0
TROY        85  58  76  51  81 /  50  70  10   0   0

&&

.BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT TONIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES: AUTAUGA...BARBOUR...BIBB...BLOUNT...BULLOCK...
CALHOUN...CHAMBERS...CHEROKEE...CHILTON...CLAY...CLEBURNE...
COOSA...DALLAS...ELMORE...ETOWAH...FAYETTE...GREENE...HALE...
JEFFERSON...LAMAR...LEE...LOWNDES...MACON...MARENGO...MARION...
MONTGOMERY...PERRY...PICKENS...PIKE...RANDOLPH...RUSSELL...
SHELBY...ST. CLAIR...SUMTER...TALLADEGA...TALLAPOOSA...
TUSCALOOSA...WALKER...WINSTON.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES: FAYETTE...LAMAR...MARION...WALKER...WINSTON.

&&

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
319 AM CDT WED APR 27 2011

ALZ011>015-017>050-280830-
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-
CHEROKEE-CLEBURNE-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-
TALLADEGA-CLAY-RANDOLPH-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-CHILTON-
COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-CHAMBERS-MARENGO-DALLAS-AUTAUGA-LOWNDES-ELMORE-
MONTGOMERY-MACON-BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR-
319 AM CDT WED APR 27 2011

...SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK EXPECTED TODAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

A SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK IS LIKELY TODAY FOR ALL OF CENTRAL
ALABAMA. STRONG...LONG LIVED TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS...AND
VERY LARGE HAIL ARE ALL POSSIBLE. THE GREATEST THREAT THROUGH NOON
WILL BE AREAS WEST OF 65 AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20. THE THREAT
WILL THEN EXTEND ACROSS ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA DURING THE
AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE AT LEAST THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

NOW IS THE TIME TO REVIEW YOUR SEVERE WEATHER ACTION PLAN AND BE
PREPARED TO TAKE QUICK ACTION WHEN WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE
EVENTUALLY ISSUED. THERE ARE STILL SOME TIMING ISSUES TO BE DEALT
WITH...SO BE PREPARED FOR SOME ADJUSTMENTS IN TIMING AND MONITOR
THE LATEST FORECAST FOR UPDATED INFORMATION.

LOCALIZED TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT.
A FEW INCHES OF RAINFALL MAY OCCUR IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
ADDITIONALLY...MORE THAN ONE STORM MAY AFFECT THE SAME AREA. THIS
MAY PRODUCE SOME LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING.

EVEN OUTSIDE OF THUNDERSTORM AREAS...STRONG GRADIENT WINDS ARE ALSO
EXPECTED. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH ALONG WITH HIGHER GUSTS
UP TO 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WILL BE
NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

In the hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
518 AM CDT WED APR 27 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0502 AM     TSTM WND GST     TUSCALOOSA              33.24N 87.54W
04/27/2011  M71 MPH          TUSCALOOSA         AL   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

&&

HB

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.

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 10:17 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

209 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

All 210 of them

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.