EF1 tornado, Saraland to Axis, Alabama, August 30, 2021

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 mphthis tornado

   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 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

EF1

Date

August 30, 2021

Touchdown

12:20 PM CDT (17:20 UTC)

Lifted

12:34 PM CDT (17:34 UTC)

On the ground

14 minutes

Path length

10.0 miles (16.0 km)

Path width

175 yards (160 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

3

County

Mobile County

Touchdown point

30.795, -88.073

Lift-off point

30.921, -87.992

Record number

2108301120-01

37 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MOB, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 105 mph.

• Minor shingle damage to bank with minor tree limb damage noted.
• Right side of circulation. Center point likely over creek. Became wider in this area.
• Planet and worldview satellite imagery show a narrow swath of trees uprooted and/or snapped at this location. A very apparent TDS was also noted on radar continuing through this area.
• Numerous trees uprooted in this area per Worldview satellite imagery. This correlates well with radar indicated TDS.

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

Hurricane Ida rapidly intensified overnight on August 28th into the morning of August 29th into strong category 4 Hurricane as it approached the northern Gulf coast. Ida made landfall across southeast Louisiana during the late morning on August 29th. Ida turned north and northeast across central Mississippi during late afternoon and evening on Monday, August 30th. ||The core of the hurricane force winds was relatively small, only extending out from the center about 50 miles. However tropical storm force winds extended outward over 150 miles from the center. This brought tropical storm force wind gusts to southeast Mississippi and much of southwest Alabama, with a brief period of sustained tropical storm force winds to coastal Alabama. Wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph were recorded across southeast Mississippi and southwestern Alabama. The tropical storm force winds also downed several trees across the area.||The highest storm surge inundation values observed were between 3 to 4.5 feet MHHW across southern Mobile county up into the far north end of Mobile Bay. Storm surge surveys indicated the highest water levels were in the Bayou La Batre area along and near Shell Belt Road where peak water levels were in the 4 to 4.5 feet MHHW range. ||The slow movement of the storm caused widespread flooding especially across southeast Mississippi and portions of southwest Alabama. Rainfall amounts of anywhere from 7 to 12 inches were recorded across southeast Mississippi and portions of southwest Alabama. This led to significant flash flooding along with significant river flooding.||Two tornadoes during the afternoon on August 30th. An EF-1 in northern Mobile County and an EF-1 in southern Clarke County.||Here is a breakdown of county impacts:||Stone County MS: Tropical storm force wind gusts downed several trees in Stone|County. Seven to ten inches of rain was recorded and one road had to be barricaded due to flooding. The low lying red creek and mill creek areas experienced flooding, impacting two RV parks.||George County MS: Eight to twelve inches of rain fell across George county which|resulted in significant flash flooding. A portion of Highway 26 collapsed just west of Lucedale, killing three people and injuring seven others. Eleven other roads were significantly flooded and had some form of washout or damage.||Mobile County AL: The west end of Dauphin Island was significantly impacted by Ida|from a combination of high surf, storm surge, and tropical storm force winds. Three miles of Bienville boulevard was impassable due to surge flooding and sand up to four feet deep. The high surf also produced minor damage to a few homes on the west end. Power poles were also knocked down on the island. Storm surge inundation peaked|between 3 and 4.5 feet MHHW across southern Mobile county up into the far north end of Mobile Bay. The highest tidal gauge readings were 3.78 feet MHHW at Coast Guard sector Mobile and 3.82 feet MHHW at the Bayou La Batre bridge. Storm surge surveys along Shell Belt road in Bayou La Batre indicated water lines that reached between 4-4.5 feet.||This surge flooding resulted in closures of low lying coastal roads, such as Shell Belt road, the US Highway 90 causeway, the foot of the Dog river bridge, and the Dauphin Island causeway. Coastal flooding persisted across three high tide cycles which resulted in prolonged closures. Observations at Dauphin Island and Buccaneer Yacht Club on|Mobile Bay measured brief sustained periods of tropical storm force winds between 40-45 mph. Gusts of 50 to 60 mph were recorded in heavier rain bands across central and southern Mobile county. An EF-1 tornado impacted parts of Saraland, Satsuma, and Creola early in the afternoon on August 30th, resulting in three injuries. Rainfall|totals of 8 to 11 inches were recorded across the county, especially in southern and central portions. This heavy rainfall led to some urban flooding in neighborhoods and damaged some drainage culverts.||Baldwin County AL: Storm surge inundation of 3 to 4 feet above normally dry ground was recorded from Weeks Bay northward. This resulted in flooding of low lying areas and closure of the US Highway 90 Causeway. Five to nine inches of rain was measured across Baldwin county, which resulted in areas of flash flooding. A portion of River Road along Styx River was washed out due to heavy rainfall and flooding. A few drainage culverts were also significant damaged in the county. Tropical storm conditions were confined primarily to immediate coastal areas, particularly along the Fort Morgan peninsula.||Clarke County AL: An EF-1 Tornado impacted portions of southern Clarke County, significantly damaging a couple of structures.||Escambia County FL: High surf of at least ten feet resulted in significant flooding and sand on coastal roadways along the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Portions of the road and access areas were closed for an extended period of time.||Santa Rosa County FL: High surf of at least ten feet resulted in significant flooding and sand along the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Portions of the road and access areas were closed for and extended period of time.||Okaloosa County FL: Strong rip currents produced by Ida resulted in two rip current fatalities in the wake of the storm. One occurred on September 1st when a 14 year old teen drowned off a Destin Beach. The other fatality occurred on September 4th when a 58 year old man drowned off Henderson Beach State Park.

The tornado began at approximately 12:20 PM at the intersection of highway|158 and highway 43 where trees were uprooted and a few pines snapped. As the|tornado moved northeast along highway 43 it produced sporadic damage to trees.|The roof of a motel on the west side of highway 43 was uplifted and partially|removed. As the tornado crossed 43 the most intense damage occured where several|sections of another motel`s roof was removed, one person had minor injuries at the|motel. Due to the roofs older build and lack of tree damage, a lower bound estimate|was used. The tornado continued northeast and crossed Jackintoport Blvd. where the|roof of an open sided industrial building was partially removed and an 18 wheeler|was overturned. Another injury occured with the overturned tractor trailer. Tree|damage became sporadic and the path may have been discontinuous until several|softwood trees were uprooted or snapped along Bayou Sara Ave. The tornado likely,|continued northeast along Gunnison Creek and damage was found as the tornado crossed|near Boboshilly Cir. This was where the most significant tree damage was noted with|several snapped softwood pines. The tornado continued northeast towards I-65 where|a couple trees were uprooted onto a home along Ellison Ave before likely dissipating|north of Dead Lake Marina Rd. Most of the damage indicators appeared right of the track and based off radar estimates the tornado could have possibly continued further into the Mobile delta.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 10:48 UTC and running to 21:00 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 16:25 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 Mobile radar (KMOB), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 17:19 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 2021 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

10 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.