EF0 tornado, New London to Eden, Alabama, December 29, 2024

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.

Rating

EF0

Date

December 29, 2024

Touchdown

12:25 AM CST (06:25 UTC)

Lifted

12:28 AM CST (06:28 UTC)

On the ground

3 minutes

Path length

2.3 miles (3.6 km)

Path width

150 yards (137 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

St. Clair County

Touchdown point

33.461, -86.335

Lift-off point

33.484, -86.308

Record number

2412290025-01

68 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 105 mph.

• Placeholder. Damage reported by Shelby EMA.
• Partial collapse of metal structure, insulation lofted into trees
• beams pulled from concrete anchoring, due to collapse
• Structural damage due to debris impact

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

A quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) entered western Alabama from Mississippi just after 9 PM on December 28. With ample wind shear and adequate instability with the line as it passed through Central Alabama, 18 confirmed tornadoes were spawned within different line segments as the QLCS pushed eastward. Of the 18 tornadoes, 6 were rated EF1, including one that had a mile-wide path in Hale County near Sawyerville and two tornadoes that struck areas of central Montgomery County. An EF0 in Lowndes County resulted in two injuries. In addition, strong gusts associated with the QLCS resulted in scattered areas of non-tornadic wind damage.

NWS Birmingham storm survey has determined a brief EF-0 tornado impacted areas near Logan Martin Lake in far southern St. Clair County. The tornado began causing timber damage southwest of Rivercrest Drive. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, and many fell onto homes near Shady Brook Lane. The tornado crossed the water and caused additional damage to timber and residences on Coosa Island Road. The tornado continued northeast causing, to a lesser degree, additional timber damage on Rabbit Branch Road and Treasure Island Road before dissipating. Maximum winds were estimated at 85 mph.

NWS Birmingham storm survey has determined an EF-1 tornado impacted and area southwest of Pell City, mainly on Roberts Mill Pond Road. Several areas of timber damage occurred, generally snapping and uprooting of hardwood trees, north of Highway 27. A chicken farm sustained significant damage, with at least five structures impacted. Debris was thrown at least 300 yards downstream. The tornado continued northeast toward Steward Road causing additional less significant timber damage dissipating thereafter. Maximum estimated winds were 110 mph.

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.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 02:10 UTC and running to 07:30 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 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.

Pell City (PLR), 12 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 53 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 06:25 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 2024 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

30 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.