Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2014
EF1 tornado, Adamsburg to Fisher Xrds, Alabama, April 29, 2014
From Adamsburg to Fisher Xrds, this EF1 tornado ran 1.1 miles across DeKalb County on April 29, 2014, touching down at 2:23 AM CDT and reaching 200 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 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
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
- EF1
- Date
- April 29, 2014
- Touchdown
- 2:23 AM CDT (07:23 UTC)
- Lifted
- 2:25 AM CDT (07:25 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 1.1 miles (1.7 km)
- Path width
- 200 yards (183 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- DeKalb County
- Touchdown point
- 34.428, -85.647
- Lift-off point
- 34.440, -85.635
- Record number
- 1404290123-01
The damage survey
64 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS HUN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 115 mph.
- Two commerical structures were damaged. At first building, roof collapsed -- bay doors appeared to be opened during storm. At second building, a bay door was blown in, leading to exterior wall/roof damage. No other damage was seen around this location -- hence the decision that this was related to straight-line thunderstorm winds.
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 tornado outbreak occurred during the late afternoon and evening across the central Tennessee Valley on the 28th. Several cyclic supercells produced tornadoes, some of which were strong. Very heavy rainfall occurred in some areas as well. In particular, up to 5 inches fell in just a few hours which led to severe flash flooding in Valley Head.|An additional round of thunderstorms late in the day/evening of the 29th produced a few reports of damaging winds and hail.
Damage was first noted just south of Bird Dog Trail at the southern end of a large farmstead. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted and a large 40 by 50 feet barn was destroyed. This brief tornado appeared to be at its peak intensity near this location with estimated winds of 100 mph. It should be noted that the barn damage was cleaned up at the time of the survey, but the homeowner confirmed the barn had totally collapsed. Several trees were snapped adjacent to the west side of a house which had no major damage. The short lived tornado moved northeast with additional trees snapped or uprooted just across Bird Dog Trail (north side). Two by fours and tin from the barn was seen here on the ground and in the trees. The homeowner also noted that tin from the barn was seen here on the ground and in the trees. The homeowner also noted that tin from the barn roof was tossed to at least the end of the tree line, which is approximately 1/3 of a mile away. The tornado then crossed a rural/forested area to the intersection of Pumpkin Center Road and CR 153/Fletcher Road. Small to medium sized branches were brought down at the southwest corner of this intersection. No additional damage was seen downstream from this location but very limited road access existed.
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 Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 29, 12:21 AM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 29, 12:21 AM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1221 AM CDT TUE APR 29 2014 .UPDATE... FOR 06Z TAFS && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 911 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014/ BUSY WEATHER NIGHT CONTINUES. NUMEROUS TORNADIC SUPERCELLS HAVE BEEN SEEN ACROSS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA THIS EVENING...WITH A LOT OF DAMAGE BEING REPORTED. THE COLD FRONT IS STILL BACK TOWARDS THE MS RIVER AND WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR TOMORROWS ROUND OF STORMS. CURRENT RADAR SHOWS THE LINE OF STORMS EXTENDING FROM FRANKLIN COUNTY TN THROUGH JACKSON COUNTY AL DOWN TO CULLMAN COUNTY MOVING EAST NORTHEAST. THE SEVERE THREAT HAS DIMINISHED FOR AREAS I-65 AND WEST WHILE THE SEVERE THREAT WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS I-65 AND EAST. AS THE SEVERE THREAT BEGINS TO DIMINISH...THE THREAT FOR EXTENSIVE FLASH FLOODING WILL LINGER THROUGH DAY BREAK AS CELLS REPEATEDLY TRAIN FROM SW TO NE ACROSS EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA. FOR THE UPDATE TONIGHT...AFTER MIDNIGHT UPDATED THE POPS AND WX GRIDS TO ACCOUNT FOR SEVERE WEATHER MOVING OUT OF THE CWA. POPS WERE REDUCED THROUGH DAYBREAK TO ACCOUNT FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS /POSSIBLY A RUMBLE OF THUNDER AS WELL/ OVER NW AL. QPF WAS ADJUSTED TO FOLLOW SUIT. UPDATED PRODUCTS WILL BE SENT SHORTLY. JMS && .AVIATION... FOR 06Z TAFS...CONVECTION WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH ACROSS THE TAF SITES AS AN UPPER DISTURBANCE MOVES EAST OF THE CWA OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER AS A CDFNT APPROACHES THE AREA TUESDAY MRNG/AFTN THE CHC OF SHRA/TSRA WILL INCREASE OVER THE TN VALLEY ESPECIALLY TUESDAY AFTN/EVENING. OTHERWISE VFR WITH OCCASIONAL MVFR WILL BE POSSIBLE THRU THE FCST PERIOD. 07 && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 AM CDT THIS MORNING FOR ALZ001>010-016. TN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 AM CDT THIS MORNING FOR TNZ076-096-097. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 28, 11:46 PM CDT, 2 hours 37 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1146 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-291300- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 1146 PM CDT MON APR 28 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...OVERNIGHT... THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. DEKALB...CULLMAN AND MARSHALL COUNTIES STILL HAVE THE CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG WITH A FEW TORNADOES. THE SEVERE THREAT OVER THESE COUNTIES WILL DIMINISH AROUND 2 AM. HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST OVERNIGHT BUT RUNOFF WILL STILL CAUSE FLOODING CONCERNS. AS A RESULT THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 7 AM TUESDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... ONE FINAL ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED ALONG A COLD FRONT AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ARE AGAIN EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND TORNADOES POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS ONGOING OVER CULLMAN...MARSHALL AND DEKALB COUNTIES. ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTER WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 29, 12:00 AM CDT, 2 hours 23 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1200 AM CDT TUE APR 29 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0329 PM HAIL RED BAY 34.44N 88.14W
04/28/2014 E0.88 INCH FRANKLIN AL FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
NICKEL SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED.
0330 PM HAIL 2 E HALLTOWN 34.45N 88.03W
04/28/2014 E1.00 INCH FRANKLIN AL EMERGENCY MNGR
QUARTER SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED.
0330 PM TSTM WND DMG RED BAY 34.44N 88.14W
04/28/2014 FRANKLIN AL EMERGENCY MNGR
MULTIPLE REPORTS OF TREES DOWN...SOME ON BUILDINGS...AND
POWER POLES DOWN. ONE WOMAN WAS TRAPPED IN HER HOUSE...NO
INJURIES REPORTED.
0344 PM HAIL BELGREEN 34.47N 87.87W
04/28/2014 E1.00 INCH FRANKLIN AL EMERGENCY MNGR
QUARTER SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED.
0358 PM FUNNEL CLOUD RUSSELLVILLE 34.51N 87.73W
04/28/2014 FRANKLIN AL BROADCAST MEDIA
A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED NEAR RUSSELLVILLE.
0359 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 NNW RUSSELLVILLE 34.53N 87.74W
04/28/2014 FRANKLIN AL EMERGENCY MNGR
MULTIPLE TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN NORTHWEST OF
RUSSELLVILLE HIGH SCHOOL.
0400 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 5 N NORTH COURTLAND 34.74N 87.33W
04/28/2014 LAWRENCE AL TRAINED SPOTTER
TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED A WALL CLOUD NORTH OF COURTLAND
0400 PM TORNADO 2 NNW RUSSELLVILLE 34.53N 87.74W
04/28/2014 FRANKLIN AL STORM CHASER
STORM CHASER REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND NORTHWEST
OF RUSSELLVILLE.
0404 PM HAIL 5 ENE PHIL CAMPBELL 34.37N 87.62W
04/28/2014 E1.00 INCH FRANKLIN AL EMERGENCY MNGR
QUARTER SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED IN EAST FRANKLIN
COMMUNITY.
0410 PM TORNADO 8 W LEIGHTON 34.70N 87.67W
04/28/2014 COLBERT AL TRAINED SPOTTER
A TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY A TRAINED SPOTTER AT THIS
LOCATION.
0412 PM HAIL 4 NNW LEIGHTON 34.76N 87.56W
04/28/2014 E0.25 INCH COLBERT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
DIME SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED IN NITRATE CITY.
0417 PM HAIL 4 NNW LEIGHTON 34.76N 87.56W
04/28/2014 E0.50 INCH COLBERT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
DIME SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED.
0426 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 5 SSW TOWN CREEK 34.62N 87.42W
04/28/2014 LAWRENCE AL EMERGENCY MNGR
FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED ON COUNTY ROAD 449.
0433 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 NNW TOWN CREEK 34.75N 87.44W
04/28/2014 COLBERT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES WERE REPORTED DOWN ACROSS RIVER ROAD AND MT STANLEY
ROAD.
0437 PM TORNADO 5 N NORTH COURTLAND 34.74N 87.33W
04/28/2014 LAWRENCE AL TRAINED SPOTTER
TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND NORTH OF
COURTLAND.
0453 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 SE ROGERSVILLE 34.78N 87.22W
04/28/2014 LIMESTONE AL EMERGENCY MNGR
DAMAGE REPORTED AT BAY HILL MARINA
0500 PM HEAVY RAIN 2 W LITTLEVILLE 34.59N 87.71W
04/28/2014 E0.00 INCH COLBERT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH NEAR FAME RANCH.
0507 PM FUNNEL CLOUD ATHENS 34.80N 86.97W
04/28/2014 LIMESTONE AL AMATEUR RADIO
WALL CLOUD AND HEAVY ROTATION REPORTED SOUTH OF ATHENS.
0512 PM HAIL ATHENS 34.80N 86.97W
04/28/2014 E1.75 INCH LIMESTONE AL TRAINED SPOTTER
GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED NORTH OF ATHENS.
0512 PM HAIL ROGERSVILLE 34.83N 87.29W
04/28/2014 E0.50 INCH LAUDERDALE AL TRAINED SPOTTER
DIME SIZED HAIL REPORTED.
0515 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 W ATHENS 34.80N 87.01W
04/28/2014 LIMESTONE AL AMATEUR RADIO
6 FOOT WIDE OAK TREE BLOWN OVER AND POWER LINES DOWN.
0521 PM HAIL ELKMONT 34.93N 86.98W
04/28/2014 E2.75 INCH LIMESTONE AL EMERGENCY MNGR
BASEBALL SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED.
0524 PM HAIL 1 SW ELKMONT 34.91N 86.99W
04/28/2014 E1.75 INCH LIMESTONE AL AMATEUR RADIO
QUARTER TO GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED AT SULPHUR
CREEK ROAD.
0525 PM HAIL ATHENS 34.80N 86.97W
04/28/2014 E2.75 INCH LIMESTONE AL PUBLIC
BASEBALL SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED.
0528 PM HAIL 2 NNW ATHENS 34.83N 86.98W
04/28/2014 E1.00 INCH LIMESTONE AL TRAINED SPOTTER
PENNY TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED AT AIRPORT ROAD.
0534 PM TSTM WND DMG HAZEL GREEN 34.93N 86.57W
04/28/2014 MADISON AL PUBLIC
TREES AND POWERLINES REPORTED DOWN ALONG WITH STRUCTURAL
DAMAGE.
0550 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 NNE RIPLEY 34.79N 87.11W
04/28/2014 LIMESTONE AL TRAINED SPOTTER
PARTIAL ROOF TORN OFF OF A HOME.
0605 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 NNE HARVEST 34.90N 86.71W
04/28/2014 MADISON AL AMATEUR RADIO
TWO LARGE TREES DOWN AND DEBRIS REPORTED.
0605 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 WNW HAZEL GREEN 34.95N 86.64W
04/28/2014 MADISON AL PUBLIC
TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.
0615 PM FLASH FLOOD RED BANK 34.77N 87.37W
04/28/2014 LAWRENCE AL LAW ENFORCEMENT
COUNTY ROADS 270, 101, 150, AND 271 ARE CLOSED. COUNTY
ROADS 270 AND 271 HAVE BETWEEN 6-8 INCHES OF WATER
REPORTED COVERING THE ROADS. FISHERMAN RESORT HAS
REPORTED EXTREME FLOODING.
0615 PM TSTM WND DMG 3 ESE ELKWOOD 34.96N 86.68W
04/28/2014 MADISON AL AMATEUR RADIO
LARGE TREE DOWN ON BOBO SECTION ROAD.
0617 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 WNW HAZEL GREEN 34.96N 86.64W
04/28/2014 MADISON AL EMERGENCY MNGR
MOBLE HOME DAMAGE WAS REPORTED.
0620 PM TSTM WND DMG WSW LINCOLN 35.01N 86.51W
04/28/2014 LINCOLN TN AMATEUR RADIO
POWERLINES DOWN...AND TREES DOWN. OLD LINCOLN ROAD AND
LINCOLN ROAD INTERSECTION IMPASSIBLE.
0622 PM TSTM WND DMG HAZEL GREEN 34.93N 86.57W
04/28/2014 MADISON AL NWS EMPLOYEE
2 BRADFORD PEARS WERE REPORTED DOWN ON RETRIEVER RUN.
0624 PM TSTM WND DMG W LINCOLN 35.02N 86.51W
04/28/2014 LINCOLN TN EMERGENCY MNGR
WIND DAMAGE REPORTED FROM LINCOLN ROAD TO FLINTVILLE.
POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGE.
0627 PM TSTM WND DMG 3 SSW FLINTVILLE 35.03N 86.44W
04/28/2014 LINCOLN TN AMATEUR RADIO
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS REPORTED ON STEWART CHAPEL ROAD.
0637 PM HEAVY RAIN 4 NNE LITTLEVILLE 34.64N 87.65W
04/28/2014 E0.00 INCH COLBERT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH COVERING THE INTERSECTION OF HWY
34 AND BLUE ROAD.
0646 PM HAIL 2 W MADISON 34.70N 86.79W
04/28/2014 E0.50 INCH MADISON AL TRAINED SPOTTER
DIME SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED AT MILL ROAD AND COUNTYLINE
ROAD.
0703 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 NW HUNTLAND 35.10N 86.34W
04/28/2014 LINCOLN TN TRAINED SPOTTER
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE REPORTED AT SHADY GROVE ROAD AND HOTEL
ROAD.
0731 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 W ATHENS 34.80N 87.04W
04/28/2014 LIMESTONE AL AMATEUR RADIO
TREE REPORTED DOWN ON A HOUSE ON BLACKBURN LANE.
0745 PM LIGHTNING 5 NNE UNDERWOOD-PETERSV 34.93N 87.66W
04/28/2014 LAUDERDALE AL UNKNOWN
STRUCTURE FIRE CAUSED BY LIGHTNING AT COUNTY ROAD 224.
0750 PM FLASH FLOOD 1 SSW HUNTLAND 35.04N 86.27W
04/28/2014 FRANKLIN TN TRAINED SPOTTER
4 TO 5 INCHES OF WATER REPORTED ON OAKWOOD DRIVE.
0757 PM FLASH FLOOD FAYETTEVILLE 35.15N 86.56W
04/28/2014 LINCOLN TN AMATEUR RADIO
SEVERAL ROADS WERE DEEMED IMPASSIBLE ACROSS LINCOLN
COUNTY.
0830 PM TORNADO SMITHLAND 35.12N 86.39W
04/28/2014 LINCOLN TN AMATEUR RADIO
SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AT SOUTH
LINCOLN SCHOOL AND IN A SUBDIVISION NORTHWEST OF THE
SCHOOL.
0845 PM TORNADO 2 W CRYSTAL SPRINGS 35.07N 86.50W
04/28/2014 LINCOLN TN TRAINED SPOTTER
ALL HOMES GONE ON PRICE LANE AND HOWELL HILL ROAD...9
MILES NORTH OF THE STATE LINE AT CROSSROAD CEMETARY.
0909 PM FUNNEL CLOUD ARKADELPHIA 33.91N 86.96W
04/28/2014 CULLMAN AL EMERGENCY MNGR
FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED NEAR ARKADELPHIA. ALSO RECEIVED
POWER OUTAGE REPORTS IN THE AREA.
0944 PM TSTM WND GST CROSSVILLE 34.29N 85.99W
04/28/2014 E60.00 MPH DEKALB AL TRAINED SPOTTER
QUARTER SIZED HAIL WAS ALSO REPORTED AT THIS LOCATION.
0945 PM TORNADO HOLLY POND 34.17N 86.62W
04/28/2014 CULLMAN AL TRAINED SPOTTER
TORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND NEAR HWY 278.
0946 PM TORNADO 5 NE PHELAN 34.18N 86.74W
04/28/2014 CULLMAN AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND IN THE BERLIN COMMUNITY.
1006 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 NNE HANCEVILLE 34.14N 86.74W
04/28/2014 CULLMAN AL BROADCAST MEDIA
TREES REPORTED DOWN ALONG WITH OTHER SMALL DEBRIS.
1008 PM TSTM WND DMG 3 WSW FAIRVIEW 34.22N 86.73W
04/28/2014 CULLMAN AL BROADCAST MEDIA
POWERLINES DOWN IN THE SIMCOE COMMUNITY.
&&
KWEBERLocal storm report, Apr 29, 12:34 AM CDT, 1 hour 49 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1234 AM CDT TUE APR 29 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1229 AM HEAVY RAIN BOAZ 34.20N 86.16W
04/29/2014 E0.00 INCH MARSHALL AL TRAINED SPOTTER
FOUR TO FIVE INCHES OF WATER OVER SEVERAL ROADS IN THE
BOAZ COMMUNITY.
&&
KWEBERLocal storm report, Apr 29, 1:05 AM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
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</html>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.
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), 00:00Z
7.4 hours before the tornado, 158 km from the path. April 29, 2014.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1978 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2492 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1007 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 175 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 250 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.7
- Supercell composite
- 13.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.4 K/km
The surface observations
Fort_payne (4A9), 9 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 Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 07:23 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 trackEvery 2014 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 29, 2014
11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 29 | 1:06 AM CDT | EF2 | DeKalb, AL | 11.7 | 200 | |||
| April 29 | 1:17 AM CDT | EF1 | Etowah, AL | 6.3 | 200 | |||
| April 29 | 1:28 AM CDT | EF0 | DeKalb, AL | 2.4 | 75 | |||
| April 29 | 1:36 AM CDT | EF1 | DeKalb, AL | 10.2 | 200 | |||
| April 29 | 3:25 AM CDT | EF0 | Macon, AL | 1.7 | 75 | |||
| April 29 | 3:56 AM CDT | EF3 | Lee, AL | 11.4 | 1,200 | 13 | ||
| April 29 | 2:25 PM EDT | EF0 | Craven, NC | 0.0 | 25 | |||
| April 29 | 3:52 PM EDT | EF1 | Cumberland, NC | 1.7 | 200 | $50,000 | ||
| April 29 | 6:09 PM EDT | EF0 | Edgecombe, NC | 4.2 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| April 29 | 7:49 PM EDT | EF0 | Greene, NC | 0.0 | 25 | |||
| April 29 | 8:10 PM EDT | EF1 | Sampson, NC | 0.8 | 100 | $355,000 |
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.