Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2015

EF0 tornado, Nuckols, Alabama, August 6, 2015

Name: EF0 tornado, Nuckols, Alabama, August 6, 2015
Start: 2015-08-07T01:40:00.000Z
End: 2015-08-07T01:44:00.000Z
Location: Nuckols, Alabama

This EF0 tornado ran 1.9 miles across Russell County on August 6, 2015, touching down at 8:40 PM CDT and reaching 250 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: August 6, 2015
Touchdown: 8:40 PM CDT (01:40 UTC)
Lifted: 8:44 PM CDT (01:44 UTC)
On the ground: 4 minutes
Path length: 1.9 miles (3.1 km)
Path width: 250 yards (229 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Russell County
Touchdown point: 32.314, -85.085
Lift-off point: 32.337, -85.066
Record number: 1508061940-01

The damage survey

13 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 75 mph.

Significant hardwood tree damage...large limbs.
Large limb with some rot broken off tree.
A few pine limbs broken. A small hardwood tree twisted.
Metal shed damaged. Porch removed.

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 short wave trough moved across north Alabama triggered numerous showers and thunderstorms along the I-20 corridor. As the thunderstorm activity pushed southward during the late afternoon and evening hours, it encountered a more unstable air mass and some of the storms become severe with a few tornadoes.

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Russell County and have confirmed that the damage was the result of an EF-0 Tornado. The tornado touched down just north of the Avalon Church on Tarver Road near Seale, and tracked northeastward through the Avalon Community, causing sporadic tree damage and damage to outbuildings and unsecured objects. It continued northeastward, crossing Pine Haven Street where sporadic tree damage continued with at least one tree blown down across the road. The tornado continued across the road for a short distance and quickly dissipated. Peak wind estimated at 70 mph.

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 Aug 6, 3:23 PM CDT, 5 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 6, 3:23 PM CDT, 5 hours 17 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
323 PM CDT THU AUG 6 2015

.DISCUSSION...

UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING ACROSS THE OH/TN VALLEYS WAS
CONTINUING TO HELP SET OFF NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON. THE BULK OF THE RAIN THUS
FAR TODAY HAS BEEN IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF CENTRAL ALABAMA...WHICH
HAS HELD TEMPERATURES THERE IN 70S TO LOWER 80S. AS THE SHORTWAVE
CONTINUES TO SLIP EASTWARD THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS
EVENING...WE SHOULD EXPECT THE BEST RAIN CHANCES TO TRANSITION
MORE TO THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST AS WELL. IN CONTRAST TO THE CLOUDY
AND RAIN COOLED AIR IN THE NORTH...THERE'S SOME DECENT INSTABILITY
IN PARTS OF THE SOUTH (ESPECIALLY THE SOUTHWEST)...WITH TEMPS IN
THE MID 90S. THIS IS THE AREA THAT WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED MORE
CLOSELY FOR STRONGER STORMS. WILL MAINTAIN A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS
AND STORMS OVERNIGHT. BUT I DO THINK THAT AS THE UPPER TROUGH AXIS
GETS EAST OF THE APPALACHIAN DIVIDE AROUND MIDNIGHT...MOST RAIN
ACTIVITY SHOULD DIMINISH AROUND HERE.

THE REST OF THE 7 DAY FORECAST WILL LARGELY FEATURE THE RISING AND
EASING OF TEMPERATURES IN CONNECTION TO THE POSITION OF THE UPPER
LEVEL SUBTROPICAL RIDGE. THE RIDGE AXIS IN EAST TEXAS TO THE LOWER
MS VALLEY OVER THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK KEEPS US IN A
ABOVE NORMAL TEMP FAVORABLE PATTERN. THE RIDGE CENTER APPEARS TO
SHIFT A BIT MORE WEST BY THE MIDDLE TO END OF NEXT WEEK...ALLOWING
SOME LOWER DEWPOINTS AND RELATIVELY LOWER TEMPS TO GET HERE FROM
THE NORTH.

/61/

&&

.AVIATION...
18Z TAF DISCUSSION.

THIS AFTERNOON...AN AREA OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO
MOVE ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA WHILE SCATTERED STORMS DEVELOP
ACROSS SOUTHEAST CENTRAL ALABAMA. RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO IMPACT ALL TERMINALS AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON. ACTIVITY
WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST LATE THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING AS
DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA BEHIND AN EXITING SHORTWAVE.

TONIGHT...LOW LEVEL MOIST LIFT WILL ALLOW FOR LOW STRATUS TO SPREAD
ACROSS THE AREA...WITH IFR CIGS POSSIBLE. FRIDAY MORNING LOOKS
BETTER WITH VFR CONDITIONS AND NORTHWESTERLY WINDS.

14

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...

SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE
ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA THROUGH THIS EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE WILL
BUILD BACK INTO THE AREA FRIDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND...TAKING RAIN
CHANCES BACK DOWN TO MORE SEASONABLE LEVELS...AND ALLOWING
TEMPERATURES TO CLIMB BACK ABOVE NORMAL.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GADSDEN     71  89  70  92  71 /  60  10  10  10  10
ANNISTON    70  89  70  92  72 /  70  10  10  10  10
BIRMINGHAM  73  91  73  93  74 /  30  10  20  10  10
TUSCALOOSA  73  94  75  96  74 /  30  20  30  10  10
CALERA      73  92  73  93  74 /  30  20  20  10  10
AUBURN      72  90  73  92  74 /  70  20  10  20  10
MONTGOMERY  76  94  76  96  75 /  70  30  20  20  10
TROY        74  93  74  95  75 /  70  40  20  20  10

&&

.BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 6, 4:13 AM CDT, 16 hours 27 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
413 AM CDT THU AUG 6 2015

ALZ011>015-017>050-071215-
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-
413 AM CDT THU AUG 6 2015

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

.DAY ONE...OUTLOOK THROUGH TONIGHT.

ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS
CENTRAL ALABAMA FROM AROUND NOON TO AROUND 9 PM. THE MAIN THREAT
WILL BE WIND GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY COULD LEAD TO HEAT INDICES NEAR OR ABOVE
105 DEGREES FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
ALABAMA...ESPECIALLY THE SOUTH AND WEST.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS NOT
EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

08

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 6, 6:29 PM CDT, 2 hours 11 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
629 PM CDT THU AUG 6 2015

ALZ047-048-070015-
RUSSELL AL-LEE AL-
629 PM CDT THU AUG 6 2015

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHEASTERN RUSSELL AND EASTERN
LEE COUNTIES UNTIL 715 PM CDT...

AT 629 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 8 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BEULAH
TO NEAR AUBURN...AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
AUBURN...PHENIX CITY...OPELIKA...SMITHS...SMITHS STATION...LADONIA...
BEAUREGARD...BLEECKER...GRIFFEN MILL...PHENIX DRAG STRIP...
CRAWFORD...LADONIA SPORTS COMPLEX...ROBERT G. PITTS AIRPORT AND
MONTEREY HEIGHTS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS...AND MAY
LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED
ROADWAYS.

FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS.
LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 15 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE
SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE.

&&

LAT...LON 3241 8498 3239 8497 3236 8511 3264 8552
      3271 8512 3269 8511 3266 8509 3265 8511
      3263 8508 3262 8509 3258 8507 3251 8500
      3246 8500 3244 8497 3242 8496
TIME...MOT...LOC 2329Z 298DEG 28KT 3266 8506 3258 8544

87/GRANTHAM

Local storm report, Aug 6, 7:15 PM CDT, 1 hour 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
715 PM CDT THU AUG 06 2015

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

0624 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 NNW ASHLAND           33.32N 85.85W
08/06/2015                   CLAY               AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TREE DOWN NEXT TO THE BOWDEN GROVE BPATIST CHURCH. TIME
            ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

&&

16

Local storm report, Aug 6, 7:18 PM CDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
718 PM CDT THU AUG 06 2015

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

0631 PM     TSTM WND DMG     4 NNE LINEVILLE         33.36N 85.72W
08/06/2015                   CLAY               AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TREE DOWN ACROSS HIGHWAY 9 NEAR THE BARFIELD SCHOOL. ALSO
            ANOTHER TREE DOWN IN LINEVILLE.

&&

DAVIS

Special weather statement, Aug 6, 7:22 PM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
722 PM CDT THU AUG 6 2015

ALZ041-043-070100-
ELMORE AL-AUTAUGA AL-
722 PM CDT THU AUG 6 2015

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AUTAUGA AND ELMORE COUNTIES UNTIL
800 PM CDT...

AT 722 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR EQUALITY TO NEAR
JORDAN LAKE TO BILLINGSLEY...AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
PRATTVILLE...MILLBROOK...WETUMPKA...TALLASSEE...ELMORE...COOSADA...
DEATSVILLE...ECLECTIC...AUTAUGAVILLE...BILLINGSLEY...EMERALD
MOUNTAIN...KOWALIGA BRIDGE...WESTERN LAKE MARTIN...JORDAN LAKE...VIDA
JUNCTION...TEN CEDAR ESTATES...WEOKA MILLS...TITUS...BLUE RIDGE AND
DEXTER.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS...AND MAY
LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED
ROADWAYS.

FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS.
LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 15 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE
SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE.

&&

LAT...LON 3236 8659 3266 8682 3269 8639 3275 8623
      3277 8596 3274 8588 3268 8591 3250 8589
      3248 8585 3245 8599 3245 8600 3241 8605
      3243 8619 3250 8626 3249 8631 3241 8631
      3243 8640 3236 8649 3235 8649 3235 8654
TIME...MOT...LOC 0022Z 318DEG 27KT 3277 8605 3266 8635 3264 8670

87/GRANTHAM

Special weather statement, Aug 6, 7:49 PM CDT, 51 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
749 PM CDT THU AUG 6 2015

ALZ048-070115-
RUSSELL AL-
749 PM CDT THU AUG 6 2015

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL RUSSELL COUNTY UNTIL 815
PM CDT...

AT 749 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR
UCHEE...OR 13 MILES NORTHEAST OF HURTSBORO...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

HALF INCH HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
SEALE...RUSSELL COUNTY SPORTS COMPLEX...PARKMANVILLE...PHENIX DRAG
STRIP AND FORT MITCHELL.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM...AND MAY LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED
ROADWAYS.

FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM.
LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 15 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE
SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE.

&&

LAT...LON 3238 8499 3238 8498 3220 8512 3237 8539
      3241 8537 3241 8533 3247 8533 3247 8526
      3239 8498
TIME...MOT...LOC 0049Z 289DEG 23KT 3241 8530

87/GRANTHAM

Local storm report, Aug 6, 8:40 PM CDT, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
840 PM CDT THU AUG 06 2015

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

0737 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 NE DEATSVILLE         32.62N 86.38W
08/06/2015                   ELMORE             AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            ONE TREE DOWN PARTIALLY BLOCKING ROADWAY ON SWEET WILLIAM
            LN. WINDS ESTIMATED 40-50 MPH.

&&

DAVIS

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

1.7 hours before the tornado, 128 km from the path. August 7, 2015.

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: 1221 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -13 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 3313 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 997 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 208 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.9
Supercell composite: 9.1
0-3 km lapse rate: 7.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), 12:00Z

10.3 hours after it, 128 km from the path. August 7, 2015.

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: 11 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -138 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 751 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 694 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 23 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 131 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Fort Benning (LSF), 8 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 Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:39 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 2015 tornado in Alabama Every tornado in Alabama since 1950 Warnings in force in Alabama now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of August 6, 2015

10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
August 6	4:05 PM CDT	EF0	Swift, MN	0.1	15
August 6	4:09 PM CDT	EF0	Swift, MN	0.1	15
August 6	4:59 PM CDT	EF0	Kandiyohi, MN	0.1	25
August 6	5:03 PM CDT	EF0	Kandiyohi, MN	0.1	25
August 6	5:21 PM CDT	EF1	Yellow Medicine, MN	1.9	440		$500,000
August 6	6:07 PM CDT	EF0	Kandiyohi, MN	0.6	25
August 6	6:33 PM CDT	EF0	Brookings, SD	0.6	50
August 6	7:00 PM CDT	EF0	Brookings, SD	0.8	50		$80,000
August 6	8:15 PM PDT	EF1	Riverside, CA	4.0	900	2	$18 million
August 6	10:35 PM CDT	EF1	Pike, AL	0.4	50	7

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.