EF4 Beauregard tornado, Alabama, March 3, 2019

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 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.

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 mphthis tornado

   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

EF4

Date

March 3, 2019

Touchdown

2:00 PM CST (20:00 UTC)

Lifted

3:16 PM CST (21:16 UTC)

On the ground

76 minutes

Path length

68.0 miles (109.5 km)

Path width

1,600 yards (1463 m)

Deaths

23

Injuries

90

Property damage

$1.8 million

Counties

Macon, Lee, Muscogee, Harris and Talbot counties

Touchdown point

32.447, -85.482

Lift-off point

32.745, -84.370

Record number

1903031400-01

404 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX and NWS FFC, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF4. The highest wind the damage implies is 170 mph.

• Road blocked, reported by county official.
• center of path, slight ground rowing.
• Annihilation of trees. Debris in rows, with debris free rows wide enough to drive through. Vehicle rendered unrecognizable. Assessment upgraded by SOO and WCM
• J bolts walls collapsed. EF4

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

On the morning of Sunday March 3rd, 2019, an upper-level disturbance moved eastward from the Southern Plains into the southern Gulf Coast States. As favorable upper-level support and deep-layer forcing approached the lower Mississippi River Valley, a surface low pressure developed and moved northeastward into Central Alabama by late morning. Ahead of this surface low, a warm front initially along the Florida Panhandle moved northward allowing for the transport of warm, moist unstable air into southern and southeastern Central Alabama. This frontal boundary eventually became more stationary and stalled out north of the I-85 corridor as the strengthening surface low moved eastward. During this time, a large area of elevated thunderstorms affected portions northern Central Alabama while supercell thunderstorms initiated across the favorable warm sector. As these supercells intensified during the afternoon, parameters became favorable for tornadic thunderstorms in an area along and south of the I-85 corridor.

A powerful storm system moved across the mid-south and southeast United States producing widespread severe weather and numerous tornadoes. In middle Georgia, significant damage from fourteen separate tornadoes was observed. Thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted and numerous homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Across central Georgia, incredibly, no deaths were reported, with only around a dozen minor injuries.

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in far southern Lee County and determined that it was consistent with an EF4 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 170 mph.||This track is a continuation of a track that began in Macon County. The tornado crossed into Lee County near Lee Road 812 and tracked northeast to County Road 29 where it removed the roof and collapsed several cinder block walls of a church. The tornado continued to intensify as it approached County Road 11, where it peeled sheet metal off of the porch of a home and ripped some sheet metal off of two outdoor storage sheds and continued to uproot numerous pine trees. Debris from structures and their contents were strewn along a tree line to the east of their original location and some evidence of weak ground rowing was observed along the surface tornado path.||The tornado reached its peak intensity just south of the intersection of Lee County Road 36 and Lee County Road 39, where it rolled a manufactured home and emptied its contents nearby on the northern side of the track. Additional damage toward the southern portion of the track included the complete destruction of a house with all debris tossed a short distance from the foundation. The tornado bent the frame of a car around the remnant of a large tree whose upper portion had broken off and totaled three vehicles by severe impacts into the bases of two remaining tree stubs. Farther east on the other side of a small lake, a well-anchored and constructed home was leveled with debris removed from the foundation and anchored bolt screws remaining intact. Toward the northern edge of the tornado, the destruction of two double-wide and a single-wide manufactured home was observed. This was the peak intensity of the tornado due to the combination of damage to the two houses along with extensive severe tree damage including trees snapped at their bases and large trees with expansive root systems uprooted along with some sporadic evidence of ground rowing.||The tornado began to decrease in intensity as it continued east roughly paralleling Lee County Road 39 where two manufactured homes were destroyed with most debris deposited away from the original location and both of the metal frames of the mobile homes could not be located. Another manufactured home was destroyed with its contents deposited in a swath from the site into the remains of a nearby tree line. A car was found in an overturned position against a hardy tree stripped of most limbs with a mattress from a bed wrapped around the mid portion of the tree. A badly mangled metal frame of a manufactured home and debris displaced nearby was all that remained of one residence. Nearby a tractor trailer rig was on its side and shoved around a sturdy tree while a nearby site-built home lost nearly all of its exterior walls with debris remaining on or near the home site. Severe tree destruction continued in this area with trees snapped at their bases and uprooted. To the north of Lee County Road 39, significant debris was deposited in a wooded area where the tornado performed significant timber damage and toppled at least one high-tension power line tower.||After demolishing two double-wide and a single-wide manufactured home the tornado tracked northeast and crossed Lee County Road 51 just north of the intersection with Lee County Road 39. A double-wide manufactured home was moved off of its base and the exterior walls collapsed on a family residence along with significant tree damage.|Some weakening occurred farther east as the tornado crossed Lee County Road 38 where it deposited a large amount of debris into a ragged forested area. The tornado crossed Lee County Road 100 and Lee County Road 166 where it caused damage to trees with some trunks snapped and some trees uprooted.||Tornado damage was observed along Lee County Road 165 and along portions of Lee County Road 40 and Lee County Road 2049. Exterior walls of a family residence were removed and a significant loss of roofing material from a house and a manufactured home were observed. The tornado flipped a manufactured home and deposited its contents nearby along with destroying the roof and walls of a single-wide manufactured home.||The tornado crossed Lee County Road 170 and County Road 175, and then Highway 169 with significant damage to timber along this path. The tornado crossed Lee County Road 245 and Lee County Road 179 with damage to the roof of a house near County Road 239 along with more timber damage. As it approached Smiths Station, the tornado crossed Fullers Lake where it rolled a manufactured home and caused some loss of roofing material to a house. Additional damage occurred along Lee County Road 294 and Lee County Road 298 where a professional building lost some of its roofing materials. Damage also occurred to siding and roofing at several small homes that were not well constructed. As the tornado crossed U.S. Highway 280 it caused some roof damage to a restaurant, damaged a billboard and collapsed a cellular service communications tower. The tornado moved across Lee County Road 318 where some roof damage to homes occurred along with significant timber damage. The tornado moved tracked towards the Chattahoochee River where it caused roof damage to some houses near the river and downed a metal high-tension power line tower. The tornado crossed the Chattahoochee River and continued into Georgia.||There were 23 fatalities and 90 injuries. The American Red Cross estimated 225 homes were destroyed, while another 133 homes sustained major damage.

A National Weather Service survey found that the deadly EF4 tornado that crossed Macon and Lee Counties in Alabama moved across the Chattahoochee River into Muscogee County Georgia with an EF1 intensity. The tornado entered the county in the Standing Boy Creek State Park, moving east northeast along Winding Ridge Road, Old River Road and Biggers Road causing extensive damage in forested areas. Large swaths of softwood trees were uprooted or snapped near their bases. The tornado continued east northeast crossing Winding Ridge Road and I-185 southwest of Fortson. As the tornado crossed U.S. Highway 27 between Woodridge Road and Almond Road, it reached EF3 intensity, toppling a large cell tower along with a swath of pine trees with wind speeds estimated to be around 140 mph. Around a dozen metal guidewires attached to the tower, and measuring over one inch in diameter, were snapped. The tornado crossed into Harris County after crossing Highway 27. No injuries were reported along the Muscogee County portion of the tornado path. [03/03/19: Tornado #2, County #1/3, EF3, Muscogee, 2019:007].

A National Weather Service survey found an EF2 tornado moved out of Harris County into Talbot County increasing to EF3 intensity along Highway 315 where a small church and a mobile home were destroyed and dozens of trees were downed. Extensive damage occurred to a two-story home. The Humble Zion Church which was completely demolished with no walls left standing, was constructed of cinder blocks and mortar. The tornado continued east northeast along or just south of Highway 315, and weakened once again with EF1 wind damage found through forested areas in and around the highway as it crossed Callier Road, O'Neal Road, and Mitchell Road. Next, the tornado moved across the northern side of the city of Talbotton, causing extensive damage to trees and completely destroying numerous homes. Damage was observed along Adams Road on the Northwest side of town as wide swaths of trees were observed to be snapped. The tornado intensified again as it crossed Washington Avenue, the main north-south road through town, causing EF2 damage. A few manufactured homes were completely turned over, twisted, and destroyed. Contents of the homes were blown over a quarter mile into the woods behind them. One site-built, single family home was twisted at least 10 feet off of it's foundation and another |had its second story completely removed. Two apartment buildings were completely blown down with the foundation slabs laid bare. At least a dozen cars were destroyed by wind-blown debris. Several cars were blown several feet from where they were parked and one sedan was rolled up onto the top of a small pick-up truck. Several other manufactured homes lost portions of their roofing and some lost whole rooms to the winds. Seven injuries were reported in Talbotton. The tornado continued east northeast out of Talbotton, continuing to snap and uproot hundreds of trees along the path. Another manufactured home was found to have been displaced and torn apart, with another having its rear half collapsed from winds and falling trees. The storm continued moving to the east northeast between Highway 80 and Boot Kelly and Pobiddy Roads. On Poplar Cross Road, between Pobiddy Road and Highway 80, hundreds of softwood trees were snapped near their bases. The tornado dissipated just east of the intersection of George Smith Road and Carl Mathis Road. Seven injuries were reported along the Talbot County portion of the tornado path. [03/03/19: Tornado #2, County #3/3, EF3, Talbot, 2019:007].

The deaths

23 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

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

41 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:19 UTC, 41 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 20:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 17:05 UTC and running to 21:29 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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 20:00 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 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.

The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:01 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 2019 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

44 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.