EF1 tornado, Eutaw to Cypress, Alabama, November 29, 2022

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

November 29, 2022

Touchdown

9:44 PM CST (03:44 UTC)

Lifted

10:13 PM CST (04:13 UTC)

On the ground

29 minutes

Path length

19.3 miles (31.0 km)

Path width

1,200 yards (1097 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Greene and Hale counties

Touchdown point

32.844, -87.940

Lift-off point

32.936, -87.627

Record number

2211292144-01

60 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.

• Snaps and uproots, some timber fell on homes causing damage
• Timber damage visible across the river
• Several trees uprooted along river bank
• Several trees snapped an uprooted. Many are laying in varying directions.

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

A very dynamic and deepening low pressure system moved through the Ohio Valley states on November 29-30 with a trailing cold. The air mass across Central Alabama was initially stable during the day on November 29th with surface dewpoints in the 40s and 50s. Instability increased dramatically the evening of the 29th as 60 plus surface dewpoints advected northward into Central Alabama. A QLCS developed ahead of the approaching cold front in addition to discrete thunderstorms.

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Greene County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 110 mph. The tornado touched down in an inaccessible area west of Eutaw shortly before crossing Greene County Road 131 where it impacted the Sagewood Apartment complex. The most significant damage here was to the northernmost unit where the majority of the roof structure was peeled away and blown into the nearby tree line. Adjacent units only showed minor damage to shingles and to siding. Nearby timber damage was also not particularly intense, though there was a variety of sporadic uprooted and snapped tree trunks. Timber and powerline damage in this area was consistent with low-end EF-1. The tornado continued east-northeast toward Highway 14 where additional timber and power line damage was observed. Several homes sustained minor roof damage on Kirkwood Lane or were more significantly damaged by uprooted trees. The tornado crossed US Highway 11 causing additional tree damage. The tornado continued northeast towards the Black Warrior River where the path became inaccessible. The tornado crossed the Black Warrior and continued into Hale County.

This tornado crossed the Black Warrior River several times and this is a short segment that the tornado moved into Hale County from Greene County. The area was inaccessible so the segment was rated as unknown intensity.

This tornado crossed the Black Warrior River several times and this is a short segment that the tornado moved back into Greene County from Hale County. The area was inaccessible so the segment was rated as unknown intensity.

This tornado originated in Greene County and crossed the Black Warrior River into Hale County. The tornado tracked just south of the river for several miles. The first section of observable damage was in the Oak Village Community northwest of Akron. Several homes sustained significant damage near the riverfront where impressive timber damage was observed. The tornado continued northeast toward Stewart where additional timber damage was observed along Highway 42. A home sustained roof damage on Mileous Chapel Road. Near this area timber damage became very diverse in direction and damage intensity. The tornado was at its widest point here with a width around 1,200 yards. Based on the nature of the damage it is believed to have been in a multi-vortex state. The tornado then continued northeast and began to weaken with minor timber damage on Massey Loop Road. The tornado dissipated shortly after crossing Highway 69.

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 22:42 UTC and running to 04:54 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 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.

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.

Tuscaloosa Municipal (TCL), 39 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:44 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 2022 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

11 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.