EF2 tornado, Malvern to Wilson Mill, Alabama, January 2, 2017

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 2, 2017

Touchdown

7:35 PM CST (01:35 UTC)

Lifted

7:44 PM CST (01:44 UTC)

On the ground

9 minutes

Path length

7.8 miles (12.6 km)

Path width

500 yards (457 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$550,000

Counties

Houston and Geneva counties

Touchdown point

31.110, -85.508

Lift-off point

31.145, -85.386

Record number

1701021935-01

83 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TAE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 115 mph.

• Debris from upstream buildings.
• Four fatalities in mobile home from falling tree.
• Small cedar tree uprooted.
• Utility pole pulled out of the ground.

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

Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms affected the region to start the year. Two day rainfall totals in excess of 8 inches were common across portions of the Florida panhandle with several roads flooded. Severe weather, including tornadoes and significant straight line wind damage, also occurred across the tri-state area with most of it in southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia. Albany was particularly hard hit with significant wind damage. There were a total of 5 fatalities across the tri-state area from straight line winds. There was also 1 fatality in Florida due to river flooding.

A tornado touched down in Geneva County near the Houston County border along Rehobeth Road before lifting after crossing US 231 just east of the National Peanut Festival Grounds in Houston county. In Geneva County, the tornado debarked and denuded several large trees and removed the roof from a home under construction. In addition, numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. In Houston County, the most significant damage occurred at the National Peanut Festival grounds. Multiple buildings were damaged or destroyed and several utility poles were snapped. This tornado was rated EF1 in Geneva county and EF2 in Houston county. Max winds in Houston county were estimated at 115 mph. Damage cost was estimated.

A tornado touched down in Geneva County near the Houston County border along Rehobeth Road before lifting after crossing US 231 just east of the National Peanut Festival Grounds in Houston county. In Geneva County, the tornado debarked and denuded several large trees and removed the roof from a home under construction. In addition, numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. In Houston County, the most significant damage occurred at the National Peanut Festival grounds. Multiple buildings were damaged or destroyed and several utility poles were snapped. This tornado was rated EF1 in Geneva county and EF2 in Houston county. Max winds in Houston county were estimated at 115 mph. Damage cost was estimated.

An EF1 tornado with max winds near 100 mph touched down along E. Cottonwood Road SE of Dothan, AL. The tornado traveled east for approx. 2.5 miles along McCallister Road before lifting near Rosewood Dr. One home had its roof removed. Others had significant shingle damage which supported the EF1 rating. Damage cost was estimated.

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

2 minutes of warning. NWS TAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:33 UTC, 2 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:49 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 21:47 UTC and running to 03:40 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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:59 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.

Dothan Municipal (DHN), 21 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:35 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 2017 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

38 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.