Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2023
EF0 tornado, Roslie, Alabama, January 12, 2023
This EF0 tornado ran 2.3 miles across Jackson County on January 12, 2023, touching down at 3:38 PM CST and reaching 70 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.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
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 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.
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
- EF0
- Date
- January 12, 2023
- Touchdown
- 3:38 PM CST (21:38 UTC)
- Lifted
- 3:41 PM CST (21:41 UTC)
- On the ground
- 3 minutes
- Path length
- 2.3 miles (3.8 km)
- Path width
- 70 yards (64 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Jackson County
- Touchdown point
- 34.708, -85.813
- Lift-off point
- 34.723, -85.776
- Record number
- 2301121538-01
The damage survey
5 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS HUN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 76 mph.
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
Placeholder...
A post storm assessment, with images provided by Jackson County EMA, showed damaged consistent with a short-lived EF-0 tornado in eastern Jackson County. This assessment was cross referenced with NWS WSR-88D data from Hytop, AL. The tornado appeared to have briefly touched down between Pisgah and Rosalie near CR-151 and CR-58. Damage to a metal roof on a farm building roof was observed at this location. The weak tornado tracked northeast toward CR-126 where minor roof damage and hardwood tree uproots were noted on a single family house property. The tornado likely lifted near CR-361 after it caused hardwood tree damage.
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. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00 UTC | 03:00 UTC | Wind Advisory | HUN |
| 13:00 UTC | 17:48 UTC | Tornado Watch | HUN |
| 15:18 UTC | 15:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN |
| 15:42 UTC | 16:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN |
| 15:56 UTC | 16:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN |
| 16:00 UTC | 16:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | HUN |
| 21:00 UTC | 21:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN |
| 21:43 UTC | 22:03 UTC | Tornado Warning | HUN |
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 Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. 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 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.
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z
9.6 hours before the tornado, 173 km from the path. January 12, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 335 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -76 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 343 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 788 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 65 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 295 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 314 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 5.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.4 K/km
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 00:00Z
2.4 hours after it, 173 km from the path. January 13, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -91941 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 39 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 765 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -86 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 20 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.1 K/km
The surface observations
Scottsburo (4A6), 20 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:55 UTC | 59 | 59 | 0° 0 kt | 1006.8 | ||
| 20:15 UTC | 60.8 | 60.8 | 200° 4 kt | 1006.4 | ||
| 20:35 UTC | 62.6 | 62.6 | 5 kt | 1006.1 | ||
| 20:55 UTC | 62.6 | 62.6 | 300° 4 kt | 1006.1 | ||
| 21:15 UTC | 62.6 | 62.6 | 200° 9 kt | 1005.4 | ||
| 21:35 UTC | 62.6 | 57.2 | 270° 10 kt | 15 | 1007.5 | -DZ |
| 21:55 UTC | 59 | 59 | 5 kt | 1007.1 | +RA | |
| 22:15 UTC | 59 | 57.2 | 280° 8 kt | 1007.1 | VCTS | |
| 22:35 UTC | 59 | 55.4 | 270° 8 kt | 19 | 1007.5 | -RA |
| 22:55 UTC | 57.2 | 57.2 | 290° 5 kt | 1007.5 | ||
| 23:15 UTC | 57.2 | 57.2 | 260° 7 kt | 1008.1 | ||
| 23:35 UTC | 59 | 53.6 | 270° 17 kt | 23 | 1008.8 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:35 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:37 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ne Pisgah | Jackson, AL | CORRECTS PREVIOUS TSTM WND DMG REPORT FROM 3 NE PISGAH. ROOF OR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AT THIS LOCATION. |
| 21:38 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 3 Ne Pisgah | Jackson, AL | AN EF0 TORNADO WITH PEAK WIND OF 76 MPH, PATH LENGTH OF 2.3 MILES, AND PATH WIDTH OF 70 YARDS. THE TORNADO OCCURRED BETWEEN PISGAH AND ROSALIE NEAR CR 151 AND CR 58. |
| 21:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ne Pisgah | Jackson, AL | CORRECTS PREVIOUS TSTM WND DMG REPORT FROM 3 NE PISGAH. CORRECTS PREVIOUS TSTM WND DMG REPORT FROM 3 NE PISGAH. ROOF OR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AT THIS LOCATION. |
| 21:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ne Pisgah | Jackson, AL | ROOF OR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AT THIS LOCATION. |
| 21:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Ne Pisgah | Jackson, AL | FOUR TO SIX TREES DOWN IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS ACROSS CR 126. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of January 12, 2023
41 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 12 | 2:03 AM CST | EF1 | Ballard, KY to IL | 6.5 | 200 | $65,000 | ||
| January 12 | 6:29 AM CST | EF1 | Monroe, MS | 2.4 | 50 | $75,000 | ||
| January 12 | 8:47 AM EST | EF1 | Henry, KY | 1.3 | 100 | |||
| January 12 | 9:01 AM EST | EF1 | Mercer, KY | 3.6 | 80 | |||
| January 12 | 8:05 AM CST | EF2 | Winston, AL | 9.2 | 425 | |||
| January 12 | 8:09 AM CST | EF1 | Lawrence, AL | 30.3 | 325 | |||
| January 12 | 9:10 AM EST | EF1 | Boyle, KY | 0.8 | 125 | |||
| January 12 | 9:23 AM EST | EF0 | Grant, KY | 0.3 | 50 | $150,000 | ||
| January 12 | 9:42 AM EST | EF1 | Madison, KY | 1.2 | 80 | |||
| January 12 | 9:24 AM CST | EF2 | Sumter, AL | 12.9 | 440 | 1 | ||
| January 12 | 9:54 AM CST | EF2 | Greene, AL | 39.0 | 675 | |||
| January 12 | 10:47 AM CST | EF2 | Hale, AL | 21.9 | 500 | |||
| January 12 | 11:50 AM EST | EF0 | Meigs, TN | 0.6 | 150 | 1 | ||
| January 12 | 11:30 AM CST | EF1 | Perry, AL | 17.3 | 500 | |||
| January 12 | 12:04 PM CST | EF2 | Dallas, AL | 23.2 | 950 | 2 | ||
| January 12 | 1:14 PM EST | EF0 | Jefferson, TN | 0.4 | 30 | |||
| January 12 | 12:15 PM CST | EF2 | Mobile, AL | 11.7 | 200 | |||
| January 12 | 1:26 PM EST | EF0 | Jefferson, TN | 1.1 | 100 | |||
| January 12 | 12:40 PM CST | EF3 | Autauga, AL | 82.3 | 1,500 | 7 | 16 | |
| January 12 | 1:54 PM CST | EF0 | Conecuh, AL | 0.9 | 100 | |||
| January 12 | 2:08 PM CST | EF2 | Chambers, AL to GA | 20.7 | 1,600 | |||
| January 12 | 2:24 PM CST | Unrated | Covington, AL | 4.6 | 200 | |||
| January 12 | 3:30 PM EST | EF1 | Cobb, GA | 1.5 | 150 | |||
| January 12 | 3:34 PM EST | EF2 | Troup, GA | 35.8 | 1,060 | 8 | ||
| January 12 | 3:45 PM EST | EF2 | Meriwether, GA | 23.4 | 1,500 | |||
| January 12 | 2:46 PM CST | EF1 | Crenshaw, AL | 0.3 | 80 | |||
| January 12 | 4:10 PM EST | EF3 | Griffin tornado, GA | 31.2 | 2,200 | 18 | ||
| January 12 | 4:13 PM EST | EF2 | Pike, GA | 21.6 | 1,000 | |||
| January 12 | 4:15 PM EST | EF1 | Warren, GA | 18.3 | 150 | |||
| January 12 | 4:16 PM EST | EF1 | Pike, GA | 7.6 | 300 | |||
| January 12 | 4:17 PM EST | EF1 | Pike, GA | 10.8 | 800 | |||
| January 12 | 3:25 PM CST | EF1 | Barbour, AL | 11.0 | 900 | |||
| January 12 | 4:27 PM EST | EF2 | Spalding, GA | 125.8 | 1,400 | 4 | 40 | |
| January 12 | 4:35 PM EST | EF1 | Butts, GA | 5.7 | 150 | |||
| January 12 | 3:45 PM CST | EF1 | Henry, AL | 7.1 | 150 | $50,000 | ||
| January 12 | 4:49 PM EST | EF1 | Butts, GA | 20.5 | 500 | |||
| January 12 | 5:39 PM EST | EF1 | Laurens, SC | 9.1 | 100 | |||
| January 12 | 6:10 PM EST | EF0 | Gaston, NC | 6.1 | 100 | |||
| January 12 | 6:23 PM EST | EF1 | Greenwood, SC | 2.1 | 75 | $200,000 | ||
| January 12 | 7:00 PM EST | EF1 | Wilcox, GA | 3.1 | 100 | |||
| January 12 | 7:03 PM EST | EF0 | Wilcox, GA | 2.2 | 200 |
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.