EF2 tornado, Heiberger to Clanton Gragg Arpt, Alabama, January 23, 2012

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 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

EF2

Date

January 23, 2012

Touchdown

4:37 AM CST (10:37 UTC)

Lifted

5:30 AM CST (11:30 UTC)

On the ground

53 minutes

Path length

39.8 miles (64.0 km)

Path width

880 yards (805 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Perry and Chilton counties

Touchdown point

32.716, -87.275

Lift-off point

32.876, -86.632

Record number

1201230437-01

89 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 130 mph.

• A few weaker trees snapped. Path Widith 100 yards. Start point of County Road 7 EF-1 Tornado.
• .Scores of HW and SW trees snapped or uprooted. Most pointed NE, however some pointed NW. 300 yds wide
• .trees snapped or uprooted
• .not as intense or wide. Chickens are fine. a few trees snapped or uprooted.

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

An upper level low pressure system developed over the Great Plains and moved east across the Ohio River Valley, dragging a cold front through the lower Mississippi River Valley. As the cold front moved through Arkansas, a squall line formed, producing severe thunderstorms to areas west of Alabama. As the cold front progressed eastward, individual supercells developed in advance of the front and moved through Alabama during the early morning hours on January 23rd. Several long track supercells produced strong, long track tornadoes.

A tornado, with winds of 110 MPH, briefly touched down along County Road 7 and moved northeast crossing County Road 16 and Alabama Highway 5. Scores of hardwood and softwood trees were snapped or uprooted along the path. The tornado lifted just after crossing Alabama Road 175. Merchantable timber losses estimated by the Alabama Forestry Commission for this track are approximately $84K.

The supercell which produced the County Road 7 EF-1 tornado in central Perry County quickly generated a second tornado just south of the first tornado path. This tornado tracked through eastern Perry County and through much of Chilton County before dissipating north of Clanton. The total path length for this tornado was over 39 miles. The tornado touched down along County Road 16, east of Alabama Road 175 in Perry County, damaging one home, one manufactured home, and downing numerous trees. It moved northeast, crossing the Cahaba River and into the Talladega National Forest, where thousands of trees were knocked down along the tornado���s path. As the tornado crossed County Road 9, winds strengthened to 125 MPH and the sanctuary of historic Ephesus Church was destroyed as the roof and steeple were partially blown away. The tornado moved along Alabama Highway 183 for approximately 6 miles causing extensive tree damage and destroying several outbuildings. The tornado crossed Mat Moore Rd and into Chilton County, at Jim Foundry Rd, south of Alabama Highway 183. Merchantable timber losses estimated by the Alabama Forestry Commission for this track are approximately $1.2M.

This tornado touched down in central Perry County and tracked through the Talladega National Forest, before crossing into western Chilton County, at County Road 309, south of Alabama Highway 183. The total path length for this tornado was over 39 miles. In Chilton County, the tornado continued to cross the national forest, downing hundreds of trees. The tornado crossed U.S. Highway 82, west of Maplesville and tracked across the northern portion of the city, with winds of 130 MPH. Along U.S. Highway 82, 16 homes sustained significant roof damage. As the tornado tracked just north of downtown, and parallel to Mulberry St, additional homes and several businesses were damaged. In total, approximately 40 homes sustained minor damage, and 36 sustained major damage or were destroyed. In Maplesville, 150 citizens took shelter in a community shelter, which despite having trees fall on it, sustained no significant damage. No injuries occurred. The tornado tracked along Alabama Highway 22, knocking down numerous trees and destroying a business on County Road 266. The tornado crossed County Road 37, damaging 10 manufactured homes, destroying 5 manufactured homes, and causing a nearby radio tower to collapse. The tornado took a noticeable turn to the northeast and moved just south of Lomax. Widespread and intense tree damage resulted in damage to several homes. The tornado weakened rapidly as it crossed U.S. Highway 31 and dissipated east of Friendship Circle, before crossing Alabama Highway 145. Merchantable timber losses estimated by the Alabama Forestry Commission for this track are approximately $1.4M.

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

10 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 10:27 UTC, 10 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 11:03 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 08:45 UTC and running to 13:59 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 05:58 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 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), 45 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 10:37 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 2012 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.