Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2022

EF0 tornado, Braggville to Eutaw Muni Arpt, Alabama, March 22, 2022

From Braggville to Eutaw Muni Arpt, this EF0 tornado ran 3.3 miles across Greene County on March 22, 2022, touching down at 6:04 PM CDT and reaching 250 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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

    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 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.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
March 22, 2022
Touchdown
6:04 PM CDT (23:04 UTC)
Lifted
6:08 PM CDT (23:08 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
3.3 miles (5.3 km)
Path width
250 yards (229 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Greene County
Touchdown point
32.724, -87.914
Lift-off point
32.748, -87.867
Record number
2203221704-01

The damage survey

22 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 80 mph.

  • Chicken coop roof partially torn off

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

Several supercell thunderstorms developed ahead of a QLCS in advance of a cold front. One supercell produced three weak tornadoes, with another QLCS producing a weak tornado. Training thunderstorms resulted in many instances of flash flooding and river flooding, with three flash flood fatalities occurring in Tuscaloosa County.

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southern Greene County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 65 mph. The tornado formed along County Road 20 just northwest of the intersection of County Road 142. It tracked northeastward crossing County Road 142 before dissipating in a wooded area. Damage was mainly limited to uprooted trees but a hunting blind was also blown over. A TDS was observed by a nearby Doppler on Wheels mobile radar. Special thanks to the NSSL UAS team for their assistance with this survey.

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southern Greene County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 75 mph. A tornado formed west of Highway 43 just south of County Road 148. The tornado uprooted several trees as it crossed Highway 43 and caused roof damage to a chicken house. The tornado continued northeast and crossed County Road 146. A few shingles were blown off a house on County Road 148. The tornado downed a couple more trees before dissipating along County Road 150. Special thanks to the NSSL UAS team for their assistance with this survey.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 17:42 UTC and running to 00:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
15:00 UTC08:10 UTCWind AdvisoryBMX
17:42 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WatchBMX
21:00 UTC08:47 UTCFlood WatchBMX
22:30 UTC00:30 UTCFlood AdvisoryBMX
22:54 UTC23:16 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMX
23:59 UTC02:21 UTCFlash Flood WarningBMX
00:02 UTC01:31 UTCTornado WatchBMX
00:40 UTC02:45 UTCFlash Flood WarningBMX

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 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 19:37 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.

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 12:00Z

11.1 hours before the tornado, 115 km from the path. March 22, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2022-03-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -75845, lifted condensation level 1169 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2022-03-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 291 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 39 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
-75845 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1169 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
291 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
353 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
2.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 00:00Z

0.9 hours after it, 115 km from the path. March 23, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2022-03-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 573 joules per kilogram, CIN -31, lifted condensation level 1220 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2022-03-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 305 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 68 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
573 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-31 J/kg
Surface CAPE
820 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1220 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
305 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
571 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.4
Supercell composite
9.4
0-3 km lapse rate
7.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Demopolis (DYA), 31 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:15 UTC74.763.7150° 18 kt251005.8
21:35 UTC74.563.7130° 12 kt221006.1
21:55 UTC73.664140° 15 kt221005.8-RA
22:15 UTC73.664130° 12 kt261005.4RA
22:35 UTC72.364.4140° 16 kt261004.7-RA
22:55 UTC72.564.4150° 18 kt261005.8-RA
23:15 UTC71.464.8140° 16 kt221005.8-RA
23:35 UTC70.265.3130° 12 kt201006.1RA
23:55 UTC6966120° 9 kt1005.8+RA
00:15 UTC68.467250° 8 kt1006.8+RA
00:35 UTC67.667.6170° 6 kt1006.1RA
00:55 UTC64.463.3320° 13 kt241005.4+RA

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

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 115 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:01 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
23:00 UTCTORNADO1 Wnw ThornhillGreene, ALA BRIEF EF0 TORNADO DOWNED TREES NEAR COUNTY ROAD 20 AND COUNTY ROAD 142.
23:04 UTCTORNADO3 Nne ThornhillGreene, ALAN EF0 TORNADO DOWNED TREES AND CAUSED MINOR ROOF DAMAGE NEAR HIGHWAY 43 AND COUNTY ROAD 148.
23:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 W WedgeworthHale, ALMULTIPLE TREES UPROOTED ON CLEAR CREEK ROAD IN THE ROEBUCK LANDING AREA.
23:36 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ene Moundville AirporHale, ALDAMAGE TO MULTIPLE STRUCTURES NEAR INTERSECTION OF CR 52 AND HWY 69.
00:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ese CokerTuscaloosa, ALTREE DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF VIENNA RD AND BILL GEORGE RD.
01:00 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 N Tuscaloosa RegionalTuscaloosa, ALBUCKHEAD DR IS IMPASSABLE DUE TO FLOODING.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2022 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of March 22, 2022

40 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 225:35 AM CDTEF0Fort Bend, TX0.8304$100,000
March 227:21 AM CDTEF0Brazoria, TX0.130$1,000
March 2211:23 AM CDTEF1Madison Parish, LA to MS6.6100$5,000
March 2211:29 AM CDTEF0Warren, MS0.650$25,000
March 2211:43 AM CDTEF0Warren, MS1.150$15,000
March 2211:58 AM CDTEF1Warren, MS14.8350$175,000
March 2212:04 PM CDTUnratedYazoo, MS0.750
March 2212:11 PM CDTEF2Hinds, MS7.8500$225,000
March 2212:13 PM CDTEF2Hinds, MS8.6880$2,000
March 2212:20 PM CDTEF1Hinds, MS9.1800$70,000
March 2212:24 PM CDTEF1Hinds, MS3.3300$15,000
March 2212:29 PM CDTEF1Madison, MS2.6350$75,000
March 2212:30 PM CDTEF1Yazoo, MS5.5600$10,000
March 2212:35 PM CDTEF1Yazoo, MS1.4550$40,000
March 2212:42 PM CDTEF1Madison, MS5.0250$75,000
March 2212:44 PM CDTEF1Yazoo, MS6.5200$10,000
March 2212:49 PM CDTEF1Holmes, MS7.4700$50,000
March 2212:49 PM CDTEF0Copiah, MS4.9100$75,000
March 2212:52 PM CDTEF1Holmes, MS14.2700$600,000
March 2212:59 PM CDTEF1Madison, MS6.4200$50,000
March 221:09 PM CDTEF1Attala, MS1.5100$15,000
March 221:14 PM CDTEF1Attala, MS3.4200
March 221:16 PM CDTEF0Carroll, MS6.3400$2,000
March 221:45 PM CDTEF0Scott, MS1.6100$5,000
March 222:34 PM CDTEF0Smith, MS1.5100
March 222:35 PM CDTEF3Kemper, MS9.2800$400,000
March 223:04 PM CDTEF1Clay, MS15.5650$115,000
March 223:17 PM CDTEF1Noxubee, MS11.6450$55,000
March 224:04 PM CDTEF0Lauderdale, MS1.525$5,000
March 224:58 PM CDTEF2Choctaw, AL2.5300
March 225:29 PM CDTEF0Lauderdale, AL1.9140
March 225:34 PM CDTEF1Clarke, MS3.7100$20,000
March 226:00 PM CDTEF0Greene, AL0.9150
March 226:21 PM CDTEF0Tuscaloosa, AL1.0175
March 226:33 PM CDTEF1Choctaw, AL0.2130
March 226:38 PM CDTEF0Hale, AL3.1430
March 227:21 PM CDTEF3Arabi tornado, LA11.532012$33 million
March 227:25 PM CDTEF1Saint Tammany Parish, LA15.0100$5,000
March 229:08 PM CDTEF0Bibb, AL2.8100
March 2211:07 PM CDTEF1Baldwin, AL5.730

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.