Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2011
EF0 tornado, Battleground, Alabama, February 24, 2011
This EF0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Cullman County on February 24, 2011, touching down at 11:10 PM CST and reaching 20 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.
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
- February 24, 2011
- Touchdown
- 11:10 PM CST (05:10 UTC)
- Lifted
- 11:11 PM CST (05:11 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.2 miles (0.4 km)
- Path width
- 20 yards (18 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Cullman County
- Touchdown point
- 34.301, -86.973
- Lift-off point
- 34.303, -86.969
- Record number
- 1102242310-01
What the Weather Service recorded
An intense fast moving squall line tracked east at 50 to 60 mph across north Alabama. Ahead of the line, southerly winds accelerated to 30 to 40 mph with a few gusts around 60 mph. The winds knocked some trees and power lines down.||The QLCS produced several reports of wind damage mainly to trees and powerlines, causing sporadic power outages. A poorly fastened, but large chicken barn was destroyed near Battleground in northwest Cullman County.
An EF-0 tornado with maximum winds of 75 mph and a path width of 20 yards tracked about one quarter mile on a farm just east of battleground. The tornado first snapped and twisted four tall hardwood trees before advancing northeast and destroying a large but unoccupied chicken barn. Metal and wood debris was shredded and twisted amongst nearby trees and damaged the adjacent home and a mobile home.
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. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 02:30 UTC and running to 06:08 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC | 08:02 UTC | Wind Advisory | HUN |
| 02:30 UTC | 06:08 UTC | Tornado Watch | HUN |
| 05:04 UTC | 05:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN |
| 05:20 UTC | 05:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | HUN |
| 05:40 UTC | 05:56 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN |
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 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:55 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), 00:00Z
5.2 hours before the tornado, 126 km from the path. February 25, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 132 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1096 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 55 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 162 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 199 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.6 K/km
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 12:00Z
6.8 hours after it, 126 km from the path. February 25, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -8 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 562 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 74 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 0 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 9 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.7 K/km
The radar
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 05:11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02:54 UTC | NON-TSTM WND DMG | 2 N Moulton | Lawrence, AL | TREE DOWN 2 MI NORTH OF MOULTON ON CR 170. |
| 03:25 UTC | NON-TSTM WND DMG | 1 W Blountsville | Blount, AL | TREE REPORTED DOWN ALONG CO RD 47. |
| 04:13 UTC | NON-TSTM WND DMG | Blountsville | Blount, AL | TREE DOWN ON LEE STREET |
| 04:15 UTC | NON-TSTM WND DMG | Huntsville | Madison, AL | TREE DOWN ON 9TH AVENUE IN HUNTSVILLE. |
| 04:16 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | West Point | Cullman, AL | UP TO 15 REPORTS OF THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE WERE RECEIVED WITHIN CULLMAN COUNTY FROM 1116 PM THROUGH 1140 PM. NUMEROUS TREES AND POWERLINES WERE KNOCKED DOWN. |
| 04:36 UTC | NON-TSTM WND DMG | Huntsville | Madison, AL | POWER OUTAGES BEHIND PARKPLACE MALL IN HUNTSVILLE. |
| 04:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 10 Sw Double Springs | Winston, AL | TREES DOWN. |
| 04:52 UTC | NON-TSTM WND DMG | 6 S Moulton | Lawrence, AL | SEVERAL TREES WERE KNOCKED DOWN ON LEOLA ROAD NEAR THE EDGE OF BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 04:53 UTC | NON-TSTM WND GST 51 | Cullman | Cullman, AL | STORM SPOTTER MEASURES WIND GUST OF 51MPH IN CULLMAN. |
| 04:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 E Hartselle | Morgan, AL | SEVERAL TREES KNOCKED DOWN WITH 5 INCH DIAMETER LIMBS SNAPPED. |
| 04:59 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ese Rogersville | Limestone, AL | MULTIPLE TREES DOWN NEAR HWY 72. |
| 04:59 UTC | HAIL 0.5 | 5 Ese Rogersville | Limestone, AL | DIME SIZED HAIL REPORTED NEAR HWY 72. |
| 05:02 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 S Mcdowell Camp Groun | Walker, AL | BARN DAMAGED ON DUNCAN ROAD BETWEEN AL 5 AND AL 195. |
| 05:04 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Nw Jasper | Walker, AL | TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN ON SCOTT CEMETARY ROAD. |
| 05:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wnw Nesmith | Winston, AL | ROOF OFF MOBILE HOME AND TREES DOWN ON CR 39 AT AL 278. |
| 05:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Arley | Winston, AL | TREES DOWN. |
| 05:09 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Se Jasper | Walker, AL | DAMAGE TO EASTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH ON HIGHWAY 118 NEXT TO THE JASPER MALL. |
| 05:09 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 N Dallas | Blount, AL | TREE DOWN BLOCKING HWY 79 AT DALLAS SELFVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT. |
| 05:09 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 N Jasper | Walker, AL | TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN NEAR CHRISTY LANE AND GAINES ROAD NEAR HIGHWAY 257 CURRY HIGHWAY. |
| 05:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Jasper | Walker, AL | TREES DOWN. |
| 05:10 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Nnw West Point | Cullman, AL | AN EF-0 TORNADO WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF 75 MPH AND A PATH WIDTH OF 20 YARDS TRACKED ABOUT ONE QUARTER MILE ON A FARM JUST EAST OF BATTLEGROUND. THE TORNADO FIRST SNAPPED AND TWISTED FOUR TALL HARDWOOD TREES BEFORE ADVANCIN |
| 05:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Sipsey | Walker, AL | TREES DOWN. |
| 05:13 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ssw Hartselle | Morgan, AL | REPORTS OF PINE AND OAK TREES DOWN...POWER POLES DOWN AND SKIRTING TORN OFF A MOBILE HOME ON GARNER ROAD. |
| 05:13 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 7 Sw Hartselle | Morgan, AL | WINDOWS WERE BLOWN OUT IN A MOBILE HOME. |
| 05:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 W Hartselle | Morgan, AL | TREE DOWN ON RESIDENCE ON FORREST CHAPEL ROAD IN OAKRIDGE. |
| 05:16 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | West Point | Cullman, AL | UP TO 15 REPORTS OF THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE WERE REPORTED THROUGHOUT CULLMAN COUNTY FROM 1116 PM THROUGH APPROXIMATELY 1140 PM. THUNDERSTORM WINDS KNOCKED NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ONTO POWERLINES AND SOME ROADWAYS. |
| 05:18 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Sse Smith Dam | Walker, AL | TREES DOWN ON SMITH LAKE DAM ROAD NEAR AL 69. |
| 05:30 UTC | TSTM WND GST 61 | Cullman | Cullman, AL | 61 MPH WIND GUST MEASURED IN DOWNTOWN CULLMAN. |
| 05:39 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 W Hartselle | Morgan, AL | TREE DOWN ON RESIDENCE ON FORREST CHAPEL ROAD IN OAKRIDGE. |
| 05:47 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 N Dallas | Blount, AL | TREE DOWN BLOCKING HWY 79 AT DALLAS SELFVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT. |
| 05:47 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Wsw Cleveland | Blount, AL | POWERLINES DOWN ON MOUNT VIEW TRAIL AND CO HWY 11. |
| 05:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Arab | Marshall, AL | TREE DOWN ON RESIDENCE IN ARAB. |
| 05:54 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Sse Cleveland | Blount, AL | TREE DOWN ACROSS CO HWY 1. |
| 05:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Owens Crossroads | Madison, AL | POWER OUTAGES REPORTED IN OWENS CROSSROADS ON HAMPTON ROAD. |
| 06:03 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 N Arab | Marshall, AL | POWERLINES DOWN IN RUTH COMMUNITY NEAR ARAB. |
| 06:06 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 N Owens Crossroads | Madison, AL | MAJOR SUBSTATION HAS BEEN TAKEN OUT IN HAMPTON COVE. REPORTS OF LARGE AND LONG LIVED POWER FLASH IN THE AREA. LARGE POWER OUTAGE IN SOUTHEAST QUADRANT OF MADISON COUNTY. |
| 06:22 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Arab | Marshall, AL | POWER OUTAGES REPORTED. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of February 24, 2011
12 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 24 | 3:53 PM CST | EF1 | Perry, AR | 11.1 | 80 | $165,000 | ||
| February 24 | 4:56 PM CST | EF1 | Lonoke, AR | 2.3 | 100 | $75,000 | ||
| February 24 | 5:03 PM CST | EF1 | Lonoke, AR | 1.6 | 235 | $400,000 | ||
| February 24 | 6:15 PM CST | EF0 | Fulton, KY | 1.1 | 50 | $30,000 | ||
| February 24 | 6:32 PM CST | EF1 | Hickman, KY | 7.2 | 100 | $80,000 | ||
| February 24 | 7:25 PM CST | EF1 | West Carroll Parish, LA | 6.5 | 75 | $750,000 | ||
| February 24 | 7:50 PM CST | EF2 | Christian, KY | 5.7 | 300 | $600,000 | ||
| February 24 | 7:50 PM CST | EF2 | Sharkey, MS | 7.3 | 400 | $1.0 million | ||
| February 24 | 8:30 PM CST | EF2 | Decatur, TN | 12.2 | 400 | $1.5 million | ||
| February 24 | 10:02 PM CST | EF2 | Davidson, TN | 7.5 | 100 | $550,000 | ||
| February 24 | 10:14 PM CST | EF2 | Wilson, TN | 8.0 | 150 | 2 | $500,000 | |
| February 24 | 10:18 PM CST | EF0 | Marion, AL | 0.6 | 100 | $75,000 |
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.