Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2016
EF1 tornado, Miller to Hardwickburg, Alabama, February 23, 2016
From Miller to Hardwickburg, this EF1 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Henry County on February 23, 2016, touching down at 11:02 PM CST and reaching 150 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
- February 23, 2016
- Touchdown
- 11:02 PM CST (05:02 UTC)
- Lifted
- 11:03 PM CST (05:03 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.5 miles (0.8 km)
- Path width
- 150 yards (137 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Henry County
- Touchdown point
- 31.497, -85.157
- Lift-off point
- 31.501, -85.150
- Record number
- 1602232302-01
The damage survey
28 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TAE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 105 mph.
- . partially rotted tree uprooted.
- Isolated tree blown down and twisted.
- Tree debarked and snapped. Not healthy. Using lower DoD due to health of tree and surrounding damage.
- 7 or 8 trees snapped for up rooted.
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
An unusually strong upper level trough and area of low pressure moved across the southeast states during the Feb 23-24 period, bringing with it numerous reports of wind damage and tornadoes. The low level jet was particularly strong with very strong 0-1 km shear values in excess of 60 knots. The 0-1 km helicity values were in excess of 1000 m2/s2 in some areas with CAPE values around 500 j/kg. There were a total of 11 tornadoes across southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia, including 9 EF1 tornadoes and 2 EF0 tornadoes.
A short tornado track was determined along CR-53 just north of its intersection with CR-26. This was a concentrated area of damage with large trees uprooted and snapped near a residence. One of the trees had a small amount of debarking with large limbs removed. This tornado was rated EF0 with max winds estimated at 85 mph.
A short tornado path was observed along CR-65 just to the east of its intersection with Highway 95. Many large trees were snapped or uprooted along this short path. This tornado was rated EF1 with max winds estimated around 105 mph.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
14 minutes of warning. NWS TAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 04:48 UTC, 14 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 05:18 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 02:10 UTC and running to 06:31 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02:10 UTC | 06:31 UTC | Tornado Watch | TAE |
| 04:14 UTC | 05:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | TAE |
| 04:25 UTC | 05:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE |
| 04:48 UTC | 05:18 UTC | Tornado Warning | TAE |
| 04:54 UTC | 05:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE |
| 05:10 UTC | 05:14 UTC | Tornado Warning | TAE |
| 05:38 UTC | 06:18 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE |
| 08:54 UTC | 23:00 UTC | Wind Advisory | TAE |
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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 01:00 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.
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), 00:00Z
5.0 hours before the tornado, 147 km from the path. February 24, 2016.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 100 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -47 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 368 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 605 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 120 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 177 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.7 K/km
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), 12:00Z
7.0 hours after it, 147 km from the path. February 24, 2016.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 159 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -67 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1137 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 700 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 68 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 261 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 306 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 5.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.0 K/km
The surface observations
Blakely (BIJ), 27 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03:15 UTC | 69.8 | 64.4 | 0° 0 kt | 1005.4 | ||
| 03:35 UTC | 69.8 | 64.4 | 0° 0 kt | 1004.7 | VCTSRA | |
| 03:55 UTC | 69.8 | 66.2 | 0° 0 kt | 1004.7 | VCTSRA | |
| 04:15 UTC | 68 | 66.2 | 140° 3 kt | 15 | 1003.7 | TSRA |
| 04:35 UTC | 68 | 68 | 130° 6 kt | 16 | 1002 | TSRA |
| 04:55 UTC | 68 | 68 | 160° 6 kt | 16 | 1001 | TSRA |
| 05:15 UTC | 69.8 | 68 | 120° 10 kt | 22 | 998.6 | TSRA |
| 05:35 UTC | 64.4 | 64.4 | 250° 19 kt | 32 | 1003 | +TSRA |
| 05:55 UTC | 64.4 | 64.4 | 240° 20 kt | 30 | 1003 | +TSRA |
| 06:15 UTC | 66.2 | 62.6 | 210° 5 kt | 18 | 1001.7 | +TSRA |
| 06:35 UTC | 68 | 64.4 | 0° 0 kt | 1001 | VCTSRA | |
| 06:55 UTC | 68 | 64.4 | 0° 0 kt | 1001.4 | -TSRA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 29 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 05:02 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04:15 UTC | TORNADO 0 | Nw Bailey Crossroad | Houston, AL | THIS WAS A WEAK TORNADO JUST NORTH OF THE HOUSTON-GENEVA COUNTY BORDER. IT REMOVED METAL ROOFING FROM SEVERAL BARNS AND PORCHES. MULTIPLE TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN. PATH LENGTH 2.8 MILES. RATED EF0. |
| 04:24 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 4 Sse Pinckard | Houston, AL | THIS TORNADO...RATED EF1...INITIALLY DEVELOPED IN HOUSTON COUNTY...BRIEFLY CROSSED INTO DALE COUNTY...BEFORE CROSSING BACK INTO HOUSTON COUNTY AND CAUSING DAMAGE IN THE MURPHY MILL RD AREA. THERE WAS A SMALL AREA OF EF1 |
| 04:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Sse Midland City | Houston, AL | POWERLINES DOWN ON MURPHY MILL ROAD. ALSO POWER LINES DOWN ON WESTGATE AT TECHNOLOGY. |
| 04:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Wnw Dothan | Houston, AL | TREE BLOWN INTO THE ROADWAY WEST MAIN AT JOHN D ODOM. |
| 04:31 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 4 Nw Dothan | Houston, AL | RATED EF1 WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 1.9 MILES. DAMAGE WAS FOCUSED AT THE ATHLETIC CENTER OF A PRIVATE SCHOOL AND A NEARBY NEIGHBORHOOD. CONCRETE BLOCK BASEBALL DUGOUT WAS DESTROYED AND SEVERAL WOOD POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED. |
| 04:32 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Nnw Dothan | Houston, AL | 8 POWER POLES SNAPPED ON TECHNOLOGY DRIVE AND TREES ALSO BROUGHT DOWN POWER LINES AT WESTGATE PARKWAY AND PROVINCIAL STREET. |
| 04:32 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Nw Dothan | Houston, AL | WTVY REPORTS DAMAGE TO NORTHSIDE WALMART WITH POSSIBLE ROOF DAMAGE AND DAMAGE TO DOORS. |
| 04:32 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Nw Dothan | Houston, AL | WTVY REPORTS DAMAGE TO NORTHSIDE WALMART WITH POSSIBLE ROOF DAMAGE AND DAMAGE TO DOORS. ALSO REPORTS OF POWER LINES SNAPPED IN HALF AND TREES DOWN IN THE AREA. |
| 04:33 UTC | TSTM WND GST 47 | 3 E Midland City | Dale, AL | MEASURED GUST TO 41 KNOTS OR 47 MPH AT THE DOTHAN AIRPORT AUTOMATED OBSERVATION. |
| 04:33 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Nw Dothan | Houston, AL | NUMEROUS REPORTS OF DAMAGE ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF DOTHAN INCLUDING MANY TREES DAMAGED AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE AS WELL. IN THE VICINITY OF THE WALMART. THERE WAS A DEBRIS SIGNATURE ON RADAR AT THE TIME AND SOME OF THIS DA |
| 04:34 UTC | TORNADO 1 | Kinsey | Houston, AL | RATED EF1 WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3.8 MILES. THIS WAS THE FOURTH TORNADO TO DEVELOP IN NORTHWEST HOUSTON COUNTY. THE TORNADO BEGAN JUST SOUTH OF WESTGATE PARKWAY AND THEN QUICKLY INTENSIFIED SNAPPING 5 POWER POLES NEAR WES |
| 04:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Wnw Dothan | Houston, AL | LARGE PINE TREE DOWN AT HAZELWOOD AND KENT IN DOTHAN. |
| 04:38 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 2 W Headland | Henry, AL | THIS TORNADO WAS THE FIFTH TORNADO TO BE SPAWNED BY THE SAME THUNDERSTORM. THE TORNADO INITIALLY DEVELOPED NEAR CR-83 AND THE CITY LIMITS OF HEADLAND WHERE LARGE TREES WERE UPROOTED. IT ENDED NEAR KNOWLES ROAD AND CR-16 |
| 04:38 UTC | TORNADO | Kinsey | Houston, AL | UPDATED KINSEY REPORT...ADDITIONAL MEDIA REPORTS OF DAMAGE IN THE KINSEY AREA WITH NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN AND CARPORTS DESTROYED. THERE WAS A DEBRIS SIGNATURE ON RADAR WITH THIS. |
| 04:38 UTC | TORNADO | Kinsey | Houston, AL | KINSEY FIRE DEPARTMENT CALLED OUT FOR DAMAGE...RELAYED BY THE MEDIA. THERE WAS ALSO A DEBRIS SIGNATURE ON EOX RADAR AT THE TIME. |
| 04:49 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Ne Headland | Henry, AL | DAMAGE TO 5 RESIDENCES AND NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN NORTHEAST OF HEADLAND. DEBRIS SIGNATURE ON RADAR AT THE TIME. |
| 04:54 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 2 Ne Balkum | Henry, AL | A SHORT TORNADO TRACK WAS DETERMINED ALONG CR-53 JUST NORTH OF ITS INTERSECTION WITH CR-26. THIS WAS A CONCENTRATED AREA OF TREE DAMAGE. |
| 05:02 UTC | TORNADO 1 | Wsw Hardwickburg | Henry, AL | A SHORT TORNADO PATH WAS OBSERVED ALONG CR-65 JUST TO THE EAST OF ITS INTERSECTION WITH HIGHWAY 95. MANY LARGE TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED ALONG THIS SHORT PATH. |
| 05:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Columbia | Houston, AL | TREES BLOWN DOWN NEAR A RESIDENCE IN COLUMBIA. PUBLIC POST TO WTVY FACEBOOK. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2016 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of February 23, 2016
38 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 23 | 5:53 AM CST | EF0 | Wharton, TX | 2.0 | 30 | |||
| February 23 | 11:11 AM CST | EF0 | Jefferson Parish, LA | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| February 23 | 11:20 AM CST | EF0 | Iberville Parish, LA | 3.3 | 50 | |||
| February 23 | 12:08 PM CST | EF0 | Ascension Parish, LA | 1.6 | 200 | |||
| February 23 | 12:42 PM CST | EF2 | Livingston Parish, LA | 4.3 | 625 | |||
| February 23 | 1:14 PM CST | EF0 | Saint Helena Parish, LA | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| February 23 | 2:37 PM CST | EF1 | St. Mary Parish, LA | 2.6 | 50 | $40,000 | ||
| February 23 | 3:10 PM CST | EF0 | Iberville Parish, LA | 1.0 | 200 | |||
| February 23 | 3:21 PM CST | EF3 | Assumption Parish, LA | 7.8 | 350 | |||
| February 23 | 3:31 PM CST | EF2 | Saint James Parish, LA | 12.9 | 350 | 2 | 75 | |
| February 23 | 3:45 PM CST | EF1 | Lincoln, MS | 0.5 | 75 | $40,000 | ||
| February 23 | 3:49 PM CST | EF1 | Pearl River, MS | 9.5 | 150 | |||
| February 23 | 3:50 PM CST | EF1 | Pearl River, MS | 5.2 | 200 | $25,000 | ||
| February 23 | 4:07 PM CST | EF0 | Lamar, MS | 0.1 | 25 | $5,000 | ||
| February 23 | 4:15 PM CST | EF1 | Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA | 3.1 | 250 | |||
| February 23 | 4:15 PM CST | EF2 | Lamar, MS | 5.6 | 100 | 1 | $105,000 | |
| February 23 | 4:22 PM CST | EF0 | Pickens, AL | 4.8 | 150 | |||
| February 23 | 4:29 PM CST | EF1 | Lamar, MS | 1.4 | 75 | $10,000 | ||
| February 23 | 4:32 PM CST | EF2 | Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA | 4.7 | 250 | 17 | ||
| February 23 | 4:41 PM CST | EF0 | Saint Tammany Parish, LA | 0.4 | 25 | |||
| February 23 | 4:42 PM CST | EF0 | Yazoo, MS | 1.1 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| February 23 | 4:46 PM CST | EF0 | Simpson, MS | 0.6 | 40 | $13,000 | ||
| February 23 | 5:13 PM CST | EF0 | Saint Tammany Parish, LA | 1.5 | 75 | |||
| February 23 | 5:25 PM CST | EF1 | Greene, MS | 1.5 | 75 | $100,000 | ||
| February 23 | 5:32 PM CST | EF1 | Greene, MS | 0.0 | 75 | $25,000 | ||
| February 23 | 5:45 PM CST | EF1 | Greene, MS | 1.6 | 150 | $200,000 | ||
| February 23 | 6:01 PM CST | EF1 | Marion, AL | 2.2 | 300 | |||
| February 23 | 6:01 PM CST | EF0 | Forrest, MS | 3.9 | 75 | $15,000 | ||
| February 23 | 8:10 PM CST | EF3 | Escambia, FL | 3.0 | 300 | 3 | $22 million | |
| February 23 | 8:17 PM CST | EF1 | Santa Rosa, FL | 2.7 | 100 | $75,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:15 PM CST | EF0 | Houston, AL | 2.8 | 200 | $50,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:24 PM CST | EF1 | Dale, AL | 4.8 | 200 | |||
| February 23 | 10:31 PM CST | EF1 | Houston, AL | 1.6 | 350 | $50,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:34 PM CST | EF1 | Houston, AL | 3.7 | 900 | $75,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:38 PM CST | EF1 | Henry, AL | 1.1 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:54 PM CST | EF0 | Henry, AL | 0.4 | 100 | |||
| February 23 | 12:07 AM EST | EF1 | Early, GA | 2.2 | 350 | |||
| February 23 | 12:55 AM EST | EF1 | Terrell, GA | 5.1 | 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.