Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2014

EF2 tornado, Inland Jct to Oneonta Robbins Arpt, Alabama, April 28, 2014

Name: EF2 tornado, Inland Jct to Oneonta Robbins Arpt, Alabama, April 28, 2014
Start: 2014-04-29T05:24:00.000Z
End: 2014-04-29T05:43:00.000Z
Location: Inland Jct to Oneonta Robbins Arpt, Alabama

From Inland Jct to Oneonta Robbins Arpt, this EF2 tornado ran 14.6 miles across Blount and St. Clair counties on April 28, 2014, touching down at 12:24 AM CDT and reaching 1,300 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 2.

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 mph
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 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.
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: EF2
Date: April 28, 2014
Touchdown: 12:24 AM CDT (05:24 UTC)
Lifted: 12:43 AM CDT (05:43 UTC)
On the ground: 19 minutes
Path length: 14.6 miles (23.5 km)
Path width: 1,300 yards (1189 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 2
Counties: Blount and St. Clair counties
Touchdown point: 33.799, -86.540
Lift-off point: 33.947, -86.365
Record number: 1404282324-01

The damage survey

104 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.

multiple roof damage at entrance of neighborhood
hundreds of trees uprooted or snapped
Large hardwood in lowlands uprooted towards track. right edge
CMU garage wall collapsed as well. Move point to the E based on Satellite house and garage by road

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 large scale severe weather event began Saturday, April 26 and ended Wednesday, April 30th, producing several waves of severe weather from the Central Plains eastward through the Deep South, and across a significant portion of the eastern United States. Strong and violent tornadoes, very large hail, flash flooding, and damaging straight line winds accompanied this dynamic storm system. The most tornadoes occurred across the Deep South as the system moved into Mississippi and Alabama on Monday, April 28th. Supercell thunderstorms developed during the afternoon over eastern Mississippi and northwest Alabama in the warm sector well ahead of a cold front. The activity slowly spread east and southeast overnight, with this wave of severe storms ending early Tuesday morning. Storms redeveloped late Tuesday afternoon and moved into Central Alabama. A large area of rainfall across the northern Gulf Coast limited the amount of instability across the area, and storms remained below severe limits. The last wave of severe weather occurred early Wednesday morning across the south as an isolated storm produced large hail, as the system finally pulled east of the area.

The tornado strengthened as it moved into southeast Blount County, near Golden Lake, and tracked along County Road 24. Some of the most extensive damage occurred just north of Pine Mountain Road, where winds were estimated at 130 mph. At this location, a home that was under construction but almost completely finished, was swept off its foundation and thrown about 50 yards into a lake. A small utility trailer was also thrown about 25 to 50 yards. Dozens of trees were either snapped or uprooted as well. The tornado tracked northeast, parallel to Inland Lake, snapping and uprooting thousands of trees and causing significant damage to two homes on Pine Mountain Rd near Cut Off Rd. A single wide and double wide manufactured home were completely destroyed on Dumas Bridge Road, and at this location there were two injuries. The tornado continued northeastward and crossed Highland Lake with a width of 1000 yds, snapping or uprooting every tree in its path. On the shores of the lake, several homes received major damage directly from tornadic winds. On Echo Lane, a well-built single family home had its roof completely removed, while 2-by-6 exterior walls remained standing, and non-load bearing walls were buckled. The neighboring home also had its roof torn off with some exterior walls collapsed. A three story home across the slough had major structural damage and was partially shifted off its foundation. Along the north shore of Highland Lake, the tornado continued snapping and uprooting trees, and damaging several more homes. The tornado weaken slightly as it crossed County Road 29 and Rogers Rd, with tree damage becoming more sporadic. However, several homes sustained significant damage in these locations. The tornado took a slight turn to the right and continued to weaken as it crossed County Road 20 and U.S. Highway 231. Northeast of U.S. Highway 231, six chicken barns were destroyed along Montgomery Drive. The tornado narrowed and lifted northeast of Hutchins Drive near the Blount and Etowah County line.

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

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 28, 6:45 PM CDT, 5 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 28, 6:45 PM CDT, 5 hours 39 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
645 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014

.UPDATE...
FOR 00Z AVIATION.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

RAPID DESTABILIZATION IS HAPPENING IN THE WARM MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER.
CLOUD COVER IS SCATTERED TO BROKEN ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA AND
TEMPERATURES HAVE WARMED SIGNIFICANTLY UP INTO THE LOW TO MID 80S
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE MID 60S TO NEAR 70.
THESE CONDITIONS HAVE YIELDED EXTREME SBCAPE VALUES OF NEAR 2000
TO 3000 J/KG. THE 18Z BMX SOUNDING INDICATES THAT THE CAP SHOULD
BE GONE BY NOW WITH TEMPERATURES CURRENTLY IN THE 80S. THE 0-1 KM
SRH IS CURRENTLY AROUND 100-200 M2/S2 ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. WE
WILL HAVE TO WATCH THE LOW LEVEL SHEAR CAREFULLY TONIGHT AS THE
MODELS DIFFER ON HOW MUCH THE SHEAR RAMPS UP OVER THE AREA. MOST
OF THE HI-RES MODELS HAVE BEEN INDICATING A SECONDARY LOW
DEVELOPING JUST TO THE NORTHWEST THAT CAUSES THE WIND FIELDS TO
BECOME MORE SOUTH-SOUTHEASTERLY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. IF THIS
WERE TO HAPPEN 0-1 KM SRH VALUES WOULD BUMP UP ANYWHERE FROM
250-400 M2/S2. EXPECT THE CAPE WILL DECREASE SOME WITH THE LOSS
OF DAYTIME HEATING BUT THIS SHOULD NOT PLAY A MAJOR FACTOR IN
LIMITING THE THREAT. DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF THE SEVERE WEATHER
PARAMETERS A STRONG TO VIOLENT TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT OVER
NORTHWESTERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA. IN ADDITION...THE SPC
HAS UPGRADED THE SWODY1 TO A HIGH RISK ACROSS PORTIONS OF
NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA. THE MAIN THREAT AREA WILL BE OVER THE
NORTHWESTERN HALF OF CENTRAL ALABAMA BUT CANNOT RULE OUT SEVERE
STORMS OR A TORNADO FURTHER TO THE EAST. THE LOW LEVEL JET WILL
BEGIN TO WEAKEN LATE TONIGHT AND TOWARDS SUNRISE AND THUNDERSTORMS
SHOULD BEGIN TO WEAKEN ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST COUNTIES. THIS IS A
VERY SERIOUS THREAT AND SHOULD BE TAKEN AS SO. PLEASE BE SURE THAT
YOU HAVE MULTIPLE WAYS TO RECEIVE SEVERE WEATHER ALERTS. DANGEROUS
SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECT THIS EVENING AND INTO THE OVERNIGHT
HOURS. PLEASE HAVE ALERT SYSTEM THAT CAN WAKE YOU UP DURING THE
MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT LIKE A NOAA WEATHER RADIO.

THE THREAT TOMORROW LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO TODAY. MODELS HAVE BEEN
MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THE LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HAVE
PUSHED IT THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA NEAR DAYBREAK TOMORROW. IF
THIS WERE TO HAPPEN...WE COULD SEE SOME BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS
TOMORROW AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TROUGH ROTATES THROUGH THE BROAD
UPPER LEVEL LOW. SBCAPE VALUES ONCE AGAIN PUSH UP TO 2000-3000
J/KG WITH AN INCREASE IN THE LOW LEVEL JET DUE TO THE INCOMING
SHORTWAVE TROUGH. THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP WITH THE DIVERGENT
FLOW ALOFT AND EXTREME INSTABILITY. SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE
ONCE AGAIN WITH TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND
FLOODING POSSIBLE ONCE AGAIN. THERE ARE STILL SOME UNCERTAINTIES
BECAUSE THE THREATS ARE CONDITIONAL ON HOW THE SYSTEM EVOLVES
TONIGHT. REGARDLESS...THESE TWO THREATS SHOULD BE TAKEN VERY
SERIOUSLY...WE HAVE NOT HAD AN EVENT LIKE THIS IN CENTRAL ALABAMA
IN SOMETIME.

05/MA

&&

.AVIATION...
00Z TAF DISCUSSION.

THE MAIN LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COMES LATER TONIGHT
DURING THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. ALL TYPES OF SEVERE
WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL
AND TORNADOES. FURTHER UPDATES WILL REFINE THE TIMING OF THE LINE
OF THUNDERSTORMS.

NOTE...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS NOW ISSUING SEASONAL
TERMINAL FORECASTS FOR THE TALLADEGA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (KASN) IN
TALLADEGA...ALABAMA. THE FORECASTS WILL BE ISSUED THROUGH AT LEAST
MAY 8TH 00Z. DUE TO THE LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF OBSERVATIONS...
KASN TAF WILL HAVE AMD NOT SKED APPENDED TO THE END OF THE FORECAST.

16

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GADSDEN     67  81  62  75  50 / 100  90  80  30  10
ANNISTON    68  80  64  75  51 / 100  90  80  40  10
BIRMINGHAM  67  81  60  75  50 / 100  90  80  30  10
TUSCALOOSA  66  82  59  75  49 / 100  90  60  20  10
CALERA      68  82  62  75  51 / 100  90  80  30  10
AUBURN      69  80  67  75  54 /  80 100  80  60  20
MONTGOMERY  71  82  68  79  55 /  90 100  80  60  20
TROY        71  80  69  78  55 /  60  90  80  60  20

&&

.BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR ALL OF CENTRAL
ALABAMA.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 28, 11:40 PM CDT, 44 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1140 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014

ALZ011>015-017>050-291200-
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-
1140 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.

A SIGNIFICANT THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER...INCLUDING STRONG
TORNADOES...WILL CONTINUE TO PROGRESS EASTWARD ACROSS CENTRAL
ALABAMA OVERNIGHT. DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND FLASH FLOODING
ARE ALL POSSIBLE. THE THREAT AREA WILL BE GENERALLY EAST OF A JASPER
TO LIVINGSTON LINE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

ANOTHER ROUND OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR ALL OF CENTRAL
ALABAMA STARTING AROUND 3 PM TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND LASTING THROUGH
TUESDAY NIGHT.  TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND FLASH
FLOODING WILL ALL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS ROUND OF SEVERE WEATHER.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WILL BE NEEDED
TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.

08/MK

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 28, 8:50 PM CDT, 3 hours 34 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
850 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014

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

0633 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 SW STAR               33.67N 88.18W
04/28/2014                   LAMAR              AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ALONG COUNTY ROAD 9 FROM THE STAR
            COMMUNITY TO THE STATE LINE. POSSIBLE TORNADO.

&&

KLAWS

Local storm report, Apr 28, 9:01 PM CDT, 3 hours 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
901 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014

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

0840 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 E JASPER              33.85N 87.18W
04/28/2014                   WALKER             AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            DAMAGE ALONG HWY69 NEAR GRAVES PATE RD IN BOLDO. ROOF IN
            THE ROAD. TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.

&&

KLAWS

Local storm report, Apr 28, 9:04 PM CDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
904 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014

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

0843 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 W SIPSEY              33.82N 87.12W
04/28/2014                   WALKER             AL   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

KLAWS

Local storm report, Apr 28, 9:07 PM CDT, 3 hours 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
907 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014

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

0708 PM     TSTM WND DMG     4 NNE BLUFF             33.88N 87.89W
04/28/2014                   FAYETTE            AL   BROADCAST MEDIA

            TREES DOWN ALONG HWY 107 BETWEEN CR 51 AND CR 36.
            POSSIBLE TORNADO

&&

KLAWS

Local storm report, Apr 28, 10:41 PM CDT, 1 hour 43 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1041 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014

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

1003 PM     TORNADO          1 NW KIMBERLY           33.77N 86.81W
04/28/2014                   JEFFERSON          AL   911 CALL CENTER

            CONFIRMED TORNADO ON THE GROUND. KIMBERLY FIRE DEPARTMENT
            DESTROYED.

1009 PM     TORNADO          5 SSE TUSCALOOSA        33.14N 87.54W
04/28/2014                   TUSCALOOSA         AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TORNADO CONFIRMED CROSSING BEAR CREEK ROAD.

1018 PM     TORNADO          1 S GRAYSVILLE          33.62N 86.97W
04/28/2014                   JEFFERSON          AL   911 CALL CENTER

            CONFIRMED TORNADO. DAMAGE OCCURRED TO THE KANGEROO GAS
            STATION OFF OF HIGHWAY 78.

&&

JTALLEY

Local storm report, Apr 29, 12:13 AM CDT, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1213 AM CDT TUE APR 29 2014

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

0540 PM     TSTM WND DMG     8 N HAMILTON            34.26N 87.98W
04/28/2014                   MARION             AL   911 CALL CENTER

            HOUSES DAMAGED ALONG CR 32 IN THE SHILOH COMMUNITY NORTH
            OF HAMILTON...511 COUNTY ROAD 32. POSSIBLE TORNADO

0559 PM     TSTM WND DMG     6 NE WESTON             34.22N 87.97W
04/28/2014                   MARION             AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TREES DOWN AND BARN BLOWN DOWN NORTH OF HAMILTON.
            POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGE.

0633 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 SW STAR               33.67N 88.18W
04/28/2014                   LAMAR              AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ALONG COUNTY ROAD 9 FROM THE STAR
            COMMUNITY TO THE STATE LINE. POSSIBLE TORNADO.

0658 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 N ETHELSVILLE         33.49N 88.23W
04/28/2014                   PICKENS            AL   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            HOME COLLAPSED, CAMPER TRAILER BLOWN AWAY, PERSONS
            TRAPPED ALONG CASTON RD, NEAR COUNTY ROAD 53. FIRE RESCUE
            ON THE SCENE.

0708 PM     TSTM WND DMG     4 NNE BLUFF             33.88N 87.89W
04/28/2014                   FAYETTE            AL   BROADCAST MEDIA

            TREES DOWN ALONG HWY 107 BETWEEN CR 51 AND CR 36.
            POSSIBLE TORNADO

0738 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 ESE WINFIELD          33.91N 87.71W
04/28/2014                   FAYETTE            AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            ROOF BLOWN OFF HOME IN GLEN ALLEN

0755 PM     TORNADO          5 W ELDRIDGE            33.92N 87.71W
04/28/2014                   MARION             AL   911 CALL CENTER

            TORNADO REPORTED BY PUBLIC TO 911 CENTER OF TORNADO ON
            GROUND ALONG HWY 118 WEST OF ELDRIDGE.

0840 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 E JASPER              33.85N 87.18W
04/28/2014                   WALKER             AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            DAMAGE ALONG HWY69 NEAR GRAVES PATE RD IN BOLDO. ROOF IN
            THE ROAD. TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.

0843 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 W SIPSEY              33.82N 87.12W
04/28/2014                   WALKER             AL   TRAINED SPOTTER

1003 PM     TORNADO          1 NW KIMBERLY           33.77N 86.81W
04/28/2014                   JEFFERSON          AL   911 CALL CENTER

            CONFIRMED TORNADO ON THE GROUND. KIMBERLY FIRE DEPARTMENT
            DESTROYED.

1009 PM     TORNADO          5 SSE TUSCALOOSA        33.14N 87.54W
04/28/2014                   TUSCALOOSA         AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TORNADO CONFIRMED CROSSING BEAR CREEK ROAD.

1018 PM     TORNADO          1 S GRAYSVILLE          33.62N 86.97W
04/28/2014                   JEFFERSON          AL   911 CALL CENTER

            CONFIRMED TORNADO. DAMAGE OCCURRED TO THE KANGEROO GAS
            STATION OFF OF HIGHWAY 78.

&&

08

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

5.4 hours before the tornado, 83 km from the path. April 29, 2014.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 1160 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -40 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1755 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1240 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 59 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 236 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 361 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.6
Supercell composite: 9.6
0-3 km lapse rate: 6.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 12:00Z

6.6 hours after it, 83 km from the path. April 29, 2014.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 22 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -219 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 308 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1562 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 80 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 36 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Gadsden Municipal (Awos) (GAD), 35 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
00:00 UTC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 05:22 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.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2014 tornado in Alabama Every tornado in Alabama since 1950 Warnings in force in Alabama now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 28, 2014

52 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 28	3:09 AM CDT	EF2	Bossier Parish, LA	5.1	550			$1.0 million
April 28	6:46 AM CDT	EF0	Shelby, TN	1.5	75			$25,000
April 28	12:36 PM CDT	EF1	White, TN	2.0	100			$30,000
April 28	1:57 PM CDT	EF0	Yazoo, MS	0.2	50
April 28	2:38 PM CDT	EF3	Lee, MS	31.0	440		32	$18 million
April 28	2:51 PM CDT	EF1	Montgomery, MS	3.4	100			$70,000
April 28	3:51 PM CDT	EF4	Louisville tornado, MS	33.4	1,320	10	84	$117 million
April 28	3:56 PM CDT	EF1	Franklin, AL	3.2	100
April 28	4:47 PM CDT	EF3	Limestone, AL	15.6	600	2	30
April 28	4:56 PM CDT	EF1	Warren, MS	4.7	200		1	$400,000
April 28	5:10 PM CDT	EF2	Obion, TN to KY	12.1	150		1	$280,000
April 28	5:14 PM CDT	EF1	Oktibbeha, MS	7.1	100			$45,000
April 28	5:20 PM CDT	EF1	Hinds, MS	13.8	500			$500,000
April 28	5:38 PM CDT	EF0	Marion, AL	7.7	100			$15,000
April 28	5:39 PM CDT	EF1	Lowndes, MS	0.6	100			$25,000
April 28	5:46 PM CDT	EF0	Hickman, KY	1.0	25			$2,000
April 28	5:48 PM CDT	EF1	Hinds, MS	10.9	300			$350,000
April 28	5:50 PM CDT	EF1	Madison, AL	8.9	100
April 28	5:53 PM CDT	EF2	Lowndes, MS	10.3	300			$700,000
April 28	6:00 PM CDT	EF1	Madison, MS	3.8	200			$450,000
April 28	7:00 PM EDT	EF2	Troup, GA	5.7	150			$41,000
April 28	6:08 PM CDT	EF1	Lowndes, MS	6.3	250			$700,000
April 28	6:09 PM CDT	EF2	Lincoln, TN	9.5	250
April 28	6:13 PM CDT	EF0	Madison, MS	0.8	75			$50,000
April 28	6:19 PM CDT	EF1	Lowndes, MS to AL	10.0	500			$500,000
April 28	6:27 PM CDT	EF3	Hinds, MS	29.7	400	1	10	$13 million
April 28	6:38 PM CDT	EF2	Lowndes, MS to AL	14.3	500		5	$500,000
April 28	7:08 PM CDT	EF1	Leake, MS	5.0	100			$400,000
April 28	7:35 PM CDT	EF1	Fayette, AL	7.0	350			$250,000
April 28	7:36 PM CDT	EF3	Scott, MS	4.3	150		3	$700,000
April 28	7:54 PM CDT	EF1	Newton, MS	9.6	150			$300,000
April 28	8:09 PM CDT	EF3	Lincoln, TN	26.8	500	2
April 28	8:12 PM CDT	EF2	Newton, MS	5.6	400			$750,000
April 28	8:18 PM CDT	EF1	Jackson, AL	6.1	100
April 28	8:35 PM CDT	EF1	Newton, MS	13.1	100			$275,000
April 28	8:40 PM CDT	EF1	Walker, AL	2.4	150
April 28	9:30 PM CDT	EF1	Sumter, AL	1.0	150
April 28	9:39 PM CDT	EF3	Cullman, AL	8.9	350
April 28	9:40 PM CDT	EF3	Jones, MS	10.5	880		15	$1.6 million
April 28	9:59 PM CDT	EF1	Tuscaloosa, AL	12.5	1,500		13
April 28	10:00 PM CDT	EF1	Jefferson, AL	8.8	800		4
April 28	11:05 PM EDT	EF1	Whitfield, GA	3.4	100			$30,000
April 28	11:05 PM EDT	EF1	Bradley, TN	0.6	100			$90,000
April 28	10:09 PM CDT	EF2	Wayne, MS	9.2	250			$1.0 million
April 28	10:13 PM CDT	EF2	Jefferson, AL	5.5	1,800		3
April 28	10:55 PM CDT	EF1	Tuscaloosa, AL	4.5	675
April 28	11:00 PM CDT	EF1	Jefferson, AL	7.6	913
April 28	11:16 PM CDT	EF2	Jefferson, AL	5.1	600
April 28	11:22 PM CDT	EF1	Blount, AL	7.8	1,000
April 28	12:15 AM CDT	EF1	Clarke, AL	0.3	200			$5,000
April 28	12:32 AM CDT	EF3	Etowah, AL	11.7	600
April 28	12:54 AM CDT	EF2	DeKalb, AL	2.5	200

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.