Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2020

EF2 tornado, Cotton Hill to Wades, Alabama, March 31, 2020

Name: EF2 tornado, Cotton Hill to Wades, Alabama, March 31, 2020
Start: 2020-03-31T16:34:00.000Z
End: 2020-03-31T17:18:00.000Z
Location: Cotton Hill to Wades, Alabama

From Cotton Hill to Wades, this EF2 tornado ran 30.0 miles across Barbour, Quitman and Randolph counties on March 31, 2020, touching down at 11:34 AM CDT and reaching 350 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 1, and did $50,000 of property damage.

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 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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: EF2
Date: March 31, 2020
Touchdown: 11:34 AM CDT (16:34 UTC)
Lifted: 12:18 PM CDT (17:18 UTC)
On the ground: 44 minutes
Path length: 30.0 miles (48.2 km)
Path width: 350 yards (320 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $50,000
Counties: Barbour, Quitman and Randolph counties
Touchdown point: 31.817, -85.264
Lift-off point: 31.865, -84.759
Record number: 2003311034-01

The damage survey

91 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX and NWS TAE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 130 mph.

AL end point (crossed state line)
dirt sucked out of ground!!!
at edge of field in distance.

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 strong upper level disturbance caused a wave of low pressure to form along a quasi-stationary front and move eastward along the Highway 80 and Interstate 85 corridors. This allowed a warm front to lift northward across the southeast portions of Central Alabama. North of the warm front, a line of showers with sporadic lightning strikes along an inverted trough was able to produce damaging winds despite a cool and stable air mass at the surface, knocking down numerous trees from Tuscaloosa County to Randolph County during the first part of the morning. A QLCS ahead of the cold front moved eastward later in the morning from Lowndes County to Barbour County, producing sporadic damaging winds. Additionally, bookend vortices and embedded supercell structures several weak tornadoes and one strong tornado.

A strengthening surface low pressure area moved across the Tri-State region. A warm front lifted northward through the area, and a cold front moved through during the afternoon hours. Scattered thunderstorms moved across the area, some of which were severe.

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southeast Barbour County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum winds near 130 mph.||The tornado formed in a wooded area west of Lee Parker Lane, just north of Highway 131 and to the northeast of the town of Baker Hill. The tornado tracked northeastward uprooting trees and causing minor roof damage to two residences along Five Mile Road. It continued to snap trees as it tracked through a wooded area. The tornado crossed Highway 131 near Leroy Road where two residences and a mobile home suffered minor damage. The tornado intensified as it crossed Highway 431 with the most significant damage in the Country Club of Alabama neighborhood, along the south side of Pebble Beach Drive. Large sections of roofs were removed from a few well built residences with collapse of some exterior walls. The tornado crossed the Walter F. George Reservoir along the Chattahoochee River and continued into Quitman County in Georgia.

The tornado moved across the Chattahoochee River from Barbor County, Alabama and crossed into Georgia along Deer Point Rd. Trees were snapped and a home suffered roof damage along the river. The tornado continued moving east northeast just to the south of Deer Point Rd snapping and uprooting dozens of trees along its path. A home had an outbuilding completely destroyed and a barn was destroyed as well. The tornado continued further into Quitman County eventually crossing HWY 82 where several trees were downed including one that crushed a mobile home. A man in the mobile home was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Damage, consisting of snapped and uprooted trees continued to the east northeast through eastern Quitman County into Randolph County. The last accessible damage was along HWY 27 six miles north of Cuthbert where a few dozen pine trees were snapped and other trees were uprooted. The tornado continued into inaccessible areas further east at this point. The tornado was rated EF1 was max winds estimated at 100 mph for both Quitman and Randolph counties. Damage cost was estimated.

The tornado moved across the Chattahoochee River from Alabama and crossed into Georgia along Deer Point Rd. Trees were snapped and a home suffered roof damage along the river. The tornado continued moving east northeast just to the south of Deer Point Rd snapping and uprooting dozens of trees along its path. A home had an outbuilding completely destroyed and a barn was destroyed as well. The tornado continued further into Quitman County eventually crossing HWY 82 where several trees were downed including one that crushed a mobile home. A man in the mobile home was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Damage, consisting of snapped and uprooted trees continued to the east northeast through eastern Quitman County into Randolph County. The last accessible damage was along HWY 27 six miles north of Cuthbert where a few dozen pine trees were snapped and other trees were uprooted. The tornado continued into inaccessible areas further east at this point. The tornado was rated EF1 for Quitman and Randolph counties with max winds estimated at 100 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 Mar 31, 9:37 AM CDT, 1 hour 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 9:37 AM CDT, 1 hour 57 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
937 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2020

.UPDATE...
MESOSCALE UPDATE.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
/Updated at 0923 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2020/

QLCS currently extends from Randolph County southwestward to
Lowndes County to southeast Mississippi. This is associated with a
potent low-amplitude shortwave trough and associated speed max
moving through. A 1006mb surface low is centered northwest of
Montgomery with a warm front extending southeastward to near
Eufaula, and a cold front extending southwestward behind the QLCS.
A northern line segment moving through our east-central counties
is elevated but damaging wind gusts have still been able to reach
the surface. Note that there is no tornado threat that far north
as it is north of the front, but was included in a tornado watch
to avoid having two different watches out. Further south, activity
is weaker until you reach a bowing segment/commahead structure
approaching southern Lowndes County. This will be the main feature
of interest as it moves eastward across our southeast counties.
Instability is surging ahead of this feature as the warm front
lifts northward, with 6-7F dewpoint increases at Montgomery and
Troy in the past hour. This suggests that SBCAPE is likely higher
ahead of the line than indicated by SPC mesoanalysis. 45-50kts of
0-3km shear oriented perpendicular to the line and 0-1km SRH of
300-400 m2/s2 will support threats of both damaging winds and
embedded tornadoes as the QLCS moves eastward across our southeast
counties though midday. Also will need to watch the potential for
low confidence semi-discrete supercell ahead of the line as cells
are developing west of Dothan.

32/Davis

Previous short-term discussion:
/Updated at 0339 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2020/

Through Wednesday night.

A strong short-wave trough will progress from the lower MS Valley
this morning through the Southeast and then slide off the Atlantic
Coast by late evening. Latest guidance suggest that severe weather
is still probable across the southern portions of the forecast area.
Looking at specific numbers, look for the system to be capable of
~500-1,200 J/kg MLCAPE and 50-60 kts eff. bulk shear. However, the
system still remains a touch separated with the best shear and best
instability. Through the morning hours, the wind shear near the
boundary lifts quickly eastward ahead of more favorable warm sector
instability. Despite this notion, many forecast soundings do suggest
enough (300 to 400 m2/s2) 0-1 km SRH to foster tornadoes in the
event a stronger updraft can establish in proximity to the shear
maxima near the front. All things considered, tornadoes, damaging
winds, and 1 inch hail all appear likely if ingredients come
together at the right time. Highest forecast confidence in severe
weather resides in the southeast portions of Central Alabama, this
morning into the early afternoon. Nonetheless, the severe forecast
remains on track and no major changes were made over previously
advertised.

Once the system moves out this afternoon, CAA will blast the region
and temperatures will fall into the 40s areawide with even a few
upper 30s in the far northern counties. Last time we were in the 40s
across the region was back on March 8th, so it will feel as quite
shock to the body if you get out and about early Wednesday morning.
Temperatures will warm up into the 60s pretty much area-wide with
a few near 70 degrees in the far south. With generally clear
skies, lows will drop into the 40s again Wednesday night into
Thursday morning.

16

.LONG TERM...
/Updated at 0339 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2020/

Thursday through Monday.

On Thursday, a combination of mid-level ridging across the Southeast
and mean 1000-500mb RH's ~35 percent will continue to favor
stable conditions with afternoon highs in the 70s and periodic
sunshine. Upstream of the ridge, a weak 700mb shortwave will
propagate across the area on Friday. Negative omegas over Central
AL suggest there may be enough lift to produce a few light
showers, but a pocket of dry low-level air may prevent much of it
from reaching the ground, so I kept PoPs around 15 percent across
our west. Meanwhile, an upper-level jet will rotate through the
Northern Rockies and produce an elongated area of surface low
pressure across the Midwest with a weak trailing cold front
extending southward into eastern Texas. A widespread area of high
pressure will develop over the northern Plains and force the front
towards the Lower Mississippi Valley while the surface low
flattens across Ontario and Manitoba. The surface boundary will
provide weak support for isolated showers and partly cloudy skies
throughout the weekend. However, the overall coverage will be
limited by weak forcing due to a lack of upper-level support and a
building ridge across the Deep South. Guidance indicates the
aforementioned ridge will once again develop over the Gulf of
Mexico. Our temperatures will largely be influenced by the
aforementioned ridge and associated height rises. Expect to see
highs in the upper 70s to near 80F as we start the new week.
Towards the end of this period, a shortwave embedded in the ridge
will rotate across the area and may provide better chances for
additional rainfall given the return of moist southerly flow.
Trended PoPs upward, but kept chances around 50% since there are
still some timing difference between models.

86

&&

.AVIATION...
12Z TAF Discussion.

Conditions will continue to deteriorate this morning. Rain has
begun to overspread TCL and will be moving in BHM, EET, ANB, ASN
over the next few hours. Looks like the more convective activity
will be across the south (MGM and TOI) late morning into the
afternoon. Look for VFR through the 13 to 14z, then a lowering to
generally MVFR with IFR with the heavier bands of rain. Winds will
be gusty at times as well through 00 to 03z from the north.

16

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...

Rain will become widespread this morning as a low pressure system
moves into the area with some thunderstorms across the south. By
midweek, high pressure will produce cooler and drier conditions
across Central Alabama with afternoon RH's ranging from 35 to 45
percent and northerly winds around 5 to 10 mph.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Gadsden     61  38  63  40  70 / 100  10   0   0   0
Anniston    64  41  64  41  72 / 100  20   0   0   0
Birmingham  64  42  66  44  72 / 100  10   0   0   0
Tuscaloosa  67  43  68  44  74 /  70   0   0   0   0
Calera      67  42  66  43  72 / 100  10   0   0   0
Auburn      72  43  66  43  72 / 100  20   0   0   0
Montgomery  76  45  70  45  75 / 100  10   0   0   0
Troy        79  46  70  44  75 / 100  10   0   0   0

&&

.BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES/...
None.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 31, 7:51 AM CDT, 3 hours 43 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
751 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2020

ALZ011>015-017>050-011600-
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-
751 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2020

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the counties served by the
National Weather Service office in Birmingham.

.DAY ONE...Outlook Through Tonight.

Strong to severe thunderstorms are possible today across the
southern half of Central Alabama. The main threat area will be
generally along and south of a line from Linden to Alexander City.
The threats will be damaging winds up to 60 mph, quarter size hail,
and a tornado. The threats will have entered the west and will end
by 1 pm in the east.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday.

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Activation of storm spotters and emergency management may be needed
today. Please follow all local, state, and CDC guidelines in regards
to travel.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 31, 10:07 AM CDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1007 AM CDT TUE MAR 31 2020

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

0944 AM     TSTM WND DMG     ROANOKE                 33.15N 85.38W
03/31/2020                   RANDOLPH           AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN AND AROUND
            ROANOKE.

&&

AS

Local storm report, Mar 31, 10:10 AM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1010 AM CDT TUE MAR 31 2020

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

0934 AM     TSTM WND DMG     WOODLAND                33.37N 85.40W
03/31/2020                   RANDOLPH           AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            CORRECTS PREVIOUS TSTM WND DMG REPORT FROM
            WOODLAND. TREES DOWN IN AND AROUND WOODLAND.
            A BARN WAS ALSO DESTROYED.

&&

AS

Special weather statement, Mar 31, 10:22 AM CDT, 1 hour 12 minutes before

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
1022 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2020

ALZ044-046-049-311545-
Pike AL-Montgomery AL-Bullock AL-
1022 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2020

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN PIKE...SOUTHWESTERN
BULLOCK AND SOUTHEASTERN MONTGOMERY COUNTIES UNTIL 1045 AM CDT...

At 1022 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Meadville, moving east at 40 mph.

Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with this storm.

Locations impacted include...
Meadville, Pine Level, Shopton, Grady, Dublin, Ramer, Beans
Crossroads, China Grove, Currys and High Ridge.

LAT...LON 3197 8620 3211 8627 3224 8595 3198 8578
      3196 8619
TIME...MOT...LOC 1522Z 255DEG 33KT 3206 8613

25/Owen

Local storm report, Mar 31, 10:43 AM CDT, 51 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1043 AM CDT TUE MAR 31 2020

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

1036 AM     TORNADO          1 NE TROY MUNI AIRPORT  31.87N 86.00W
03/31/2020                   PIKE               AL   PUBLIC

            RADAR CONFIRMED TORNADO COLLOCATED WITH
            PICTURE OF TORNADO NEAR TROY AIRPORT.

&&

AS

Local storm report, Mar 31, 10:50 AM CDT, 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1050 AM CDT TUE MAR 31 2020

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

1037 AM     TSTM WND GST     TROY MUNI AIRPORT       31.86N 86.01W
03/31/2020  M47 MPH          PIKE               AL   ASOS

            PEAK GUST 41 KTS.

&&

AS

Local storm report, Mar 31, 11:29 AM CDT, 5 minutes before

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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), 12:00Z

4.6 hours before the tornado, 174 km from the path. March 31, 2020.

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -69256 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 187 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 734 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 125 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 203 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), 00:00Z

7.4 hours after it, 174 km from the path. April 1, 2020.

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: 2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -161 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 896 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 64 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -108 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -92 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Eufaula (EUF), 17 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 Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 16:36 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 2020 tornado in Alabama Every tornado in Alabama since 1950 Warnings in force in Alabama now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of March 31, 2020

12 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
March 31	9:30 AM CDT	EF1	George, MS	8.2	50
March 31	10:23 AM CDT	EF0	Montgomery, AL	3.3	190
March 31	10:33 AM CDT	EF0	Pike, AL	0.1	80
March 31	10:34 AM CDT	EF0	Pike, AL	1.6	80
March 31	10:51 AM CDT	EF0	Pike, AL	0.8	180
March 31	12:55 PM CDT	EF0	Walton, FL	0.2	25	$2,000
March 31	4:10 PM EDT	EF1	Jefferson, FL	9.2	150	$2,000
March 31	4:17 PM EDT	EF1	Madison, FL	11.7	100
March 31	4:33 PM EDT	EF0	Madison, FL	0.1	50	$50,000
March 31	5:26 PM EDT	EF0	Suwannee, FL	0.8	704
March 31	2:30 PM PDT	EF0	Benton, WA	0.1	20
March 31	7:29 PM EDT	EF0	Saint Johns, FL	0.4	704

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.