Damage Surveys from Sunday 2/17/08

...DAMAGE SURVEYS CONTINUE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...

ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2008 A STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW EJECTED OUT OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND TRACKED ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS IN CONJUNCTION WITH DEWPOINTS CLIMBING INTO THE LOWER 60S...A STRONG LOW LEVEL JET...AND TEMPERATURES IN EXCESS OF 70 DEGREES RESULTED THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERAL SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS.

BEFORE NOON A SQUALL LINE DEVELOPED ALONG THE ALABAMA MISSISSIPPI STATE LINE AND TRACKED EASTWARD ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...INTENSIFYING DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. BY SUNSET...DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AT NUMEROUS LOCATIONS...GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM DEMOPOLIS TO WEDOWEE. TORNADO WATCHES WERE IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA BETWEEN 530 AM AND 800 PM. A TOTAL OF 20 TORNADO WARNINGS AND 7 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS WERE ISSUED BETWEEN 1059 AM AND 505 PM BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM.

SO FAR...AT LEAST SIX TORNADOES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED. BELOW IS A COUNTY BY COUNTY DISCUSSION OF THE EVENT.

SUMMERFIELD (DALLAS COUNTY) TORNADO:
A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAM HAS ASSESSED THE DAMAGE IN DALLAS COUNTY AND DETERMINED THE DAMAGE WAS THE RESULT OF A TORNADO...RANKING EF-2 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE...WITH WIND SPEEDS ESTIMATED UP TO 120 MPH. THE TORNADO PATH WAS APPROXIMATELY 7 MILES LONG AND ONE HALF MILE WIDE AT ITS WIDEST POINT. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR WARRIOR DRIVE...JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE PERRY COUNTY LINE...AND THEN TRACKED ACROSS HIGHWAY 219 NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF COUNTY ROAD 230...ENDING JUST WEST OF THE INTERSECTION OF COUNTY ROAD 37 AND COUNTY ROAD 866. SEVEN HOMES AND TWO BUSINESSES WERE TOTALLY DESTROYED...AND TWELVE TO FIFTEEN ADDITIONAL STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED TO VARIOUS DEGREES. APPROXIMATELY 300 TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. THIS DAMAGE OCCURRED AROUND 1229 PM. A TORNADO WARNING WAS IN EFFECTFROM 1208 PM UNTIL 100 PM. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED.

CLANTON (CHILTON COUNTY) TORNADO AND WIND DAMAGE:
A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAM HAS ASSESSED THE DAMAGE NEAR EXIT 205 ALONG INTERSTATE 65 IN CHILTON COUNTY AND DETERMINED THAT THE MAJORITY OF THIS DAMAGE WAS THE RESULT OF STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. THIS DAMAGE ENCOMPASSED AN AREA NEARLY 2.75 MILES LONG BY 1.5 MILESWIDE BETWEEN COUNTY ROAD 7 AND COUNTY ROAD 41. HOWEVER THE SURVEY ALSO FOUND A LOCALIZED AREA EAST OF INTERSTATE 65 THAT WAS THE RESULT OF A TORNADO RATED EF-1 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE...WITH WINDS ESTIMATED UP TO 110 MILES PER HOUR. THE TORNADO DAMAGE PATH WAS 1.1 MILES LONG AND 0.25 MILES WIDE AT ITS WIDEST POINT. DAMAGE WAS PRIMARILY TO TREES...WITH APPROXIMATELY 300 TREES EITHER UPROOTED OR SNAPPED. IN ADDITION...AROUND 15 STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED...THE WORST BEING A MOBILE HOME ALONG COUNTY ROAD 41 THAT HAD TWO LARGE OAK TREESFALL ON IT. SEVERAL FAST FOOD RESTAURANT SIGNS AND A COUPLE OF ROADSIGNS WERE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. THIS DAMAGE OCCURRED AT APPROXIMATELY 105 PM. TWO TORNADO WARNINGS WERE ISSUED FOR THIS STORM. THE FIRST WAS ISSUED AT 1208 PM AND EXPIRED AT 100 PM. THE SECOND TORNADO WARNING WAS ISSUED AT 1253 PM AND EXPIRED AT 130 PM. IN ADDITION...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING WAS ISSUED AT 1228 PM AND EXPIRED AT 130 PM. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED.

PIKE COUNTY TORNADO:
A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAM HAS ASSESSED THE DAMAGE IN PIKE COUNTY AND DETERMINED THE DAMAGE WAS THE RESULT OF ATORNADO. THE TORNADO ENTERED PIKE COUNTY FROM COFFEE COUNTY APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HENDERSON...CROSSED STATE HIGHWAYS 87 AND 167 AND ENDED JUST NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF COUNTY ROADS 6 AND 57. THIS STORM TRACKED ACROSS COUNTIES IN BOTH MOBILE`S AND TALLAHASSEE`S AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY. ALTHOUGH THE STORM PRODUCED EF-1 DAMAGE IN PIKE COUNTY...WITH WINDS ESTIMATED UP TO 100 MPH...THE FINAL EF RANKING AND PATH LENGTH/WIDTH WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE MAXIMUM RANKING FROM THE THREE OFFICES. IN PIKE COUNTY...ONE HOME AND ONE CHURCH WERE DAMAGED AND NUMEROUS TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. THIS DAMAGE OCCURRED AT APPROXIMATELY 223 PM. A TORNADOWARNING WAS IN EFFECT FROM 150 PM UNTIL 245 PM.

COLLIRENE (LOWNDES COUNTY) TORNADO:
A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAM HAS ASSESSED THE DAMAGE IN LOWNDES COUNTY AND DETERMINED THAT THE DAMAGE WAS THE RESULT OF A TORNADO...RANKING EF-2 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE WITH WINDS ESTIMATED UP TO 120 MPH. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE COLLIRENE COMMUNITY...AND THEN TRACKED NORTHEASTWARD TO AT LEAST US HIGHWAY 80 JUST EAST OF ALABAMA ROUTE 23. ELEVEN STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED WITH THREE OF THESE COMPLETELY DESTROYED. IN ADDITION TEN PEOPLE WERE INJURED. HUNDREDS OF TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. THE MOST EXTENSIVE DAMAGE WAS LOCATED NEAR COLLIRENE. THIS DAMAGE OCCURRED AT APPROXIMATELY 225 PM. A TORNADO WARNING WAS IN EFFECT FROM 145 PM UNTIL 245 PM. IT IS NOT YET KNOWN FOR CERTAIN IF THIS TORNADO CONTINUED BEYONDUS-80 AND ACROSS THE ALABAMA RIVER INTO AUTAUGA COUNTY. IF LATER SURVEYS CONFIRM THAT IT DID CONTINUE INTO AUTAUGA COUNTY...IT WOULD LIKELY BE LINKED TO AND COMBINED WITH THE PRATTVILLE TORNADO.

PRATTVILLE TORNADO:AUTAUGA COUNTY...
A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAM HAS ASSESSED THE DAMAGE IN AUTAUGA COUNTY AND DETERMINED THE DAMAGE WAS THE RESULT OF A TORNADO...RANKING EF-3 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE...WITH WINDS ESTIMATED UP TO 155 MPH. THE TORNADO...WHICH MAY HAVE BEGUN IN LOWNDES COUNTY...TRACKED ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN CORNER OF AUTAUGA COUNTY INCLUDING THE CITY OF PRATTVILLE. THE MOST DAMAGE OCCURRED ALONG EAST MAIN STREET NEAR MCQUEEN SMITH ROAD AND IN THE SILVER HILLS SUBDIVISION. AN ESTIMATED 200 RESIDENTIAL HOMES AND 40BUSINESSES WERE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. HUNDREDS OF TREES WERE EITHERSNAPPED OR UPROOTED. IN ADDITION...50 INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED BETWEEN 300 AND 305 PM BUT DAMAGE LIKELY OCCURRED AS EARLY AS 253 PM. A TORNADO WARNING WAS IN EFFECT FROM 231 PM UNTIL 330 PM.

ELMORE COUNTY...THE PRATTVILLE TORNADO CONTINUED INTO ELMORE COUNTY...SNAPPING AND UPROOTING SEVERAL TREES AND PRODUCING GENERALLY LIGHT STRUCTURALDAMAGE TO SEVERAL BUILDINGS. THIS DAMAGE OCCURRED AROUND 310 PM. A TORNADO WARNING WAS IN EFFECT FROM 231 PM UNTIL 330 PM. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED IN ELMORE COUNTY.

COTTONTON (RUSSELL COUNTY) TORNADO:
A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAM HAS ASSESSED THE DAMAGE IN RUSSELL COUNTY AND DETERMINED THE DAMAGE WAS THE RESULT OF A TORNADO...RANKING EF-2 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE...WITH WINDS ESTIMATED UP TO 125 MPH. THE DAMAGE PATH IN ALABAMA WAS ABOUT 7 MILES LONG...AND UP TO ONE MILE WIDE. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF US-431 AND COUNTY ROAD 51 IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE COUNTY...AND MOVED NORTHEAST TO AT LEAST THE CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER NEAR THE COTTONTON COMMUNITY. THE HEAVIEST DAMAGE WAS LOCATED NEAR COUNTY ROAD 12. AT LEAST TWO MOBILE HOMES WERE DESTROYED...AND TWO FRAME HOUSES RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE. NUMEROUS TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED...AND AT LEAST ONE VEHICLE WAS FLIPPED OVER. THIS DAMAGE OCCURRED AROUND 345 PM. A TORNADO WARNING WAS IN AFFECT FROM 337 PM UNTIL 415 PM.

GAINO (BARBOUR COUNTY) TORNADO:
A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEY TEAM HAS ASSESSED THE DAMAGE IN SOUTHEASTERN BARBOUR COUNTY AND DETERMINED IT WAS THE RESULT OF A TORNADO RANKING EF-1 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE...WITH ESTIMATED WINDS UP TO 100 MPH. THE PATH LENGTH WAS 21.5 MILES LONG AND 75 YARDS WIDE AT ITS WIDEST POINT. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR RIVER ROAD ALONG HIGHWAY 10 WHERE IT SNAPPED TWO WOODEN POWER POLES. IT THEN TRACKED NORTHEAST ACROSS JOHN MARTIN ROAD BEFORE LIFTING NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF COUNTY ROAD 79 SOUTH AND HIGHWAY 30. ALONG THE PATH NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED OR SNAPPED AND SEVERAL MOBILE HOMES SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE. THIS DAMAGE OCCURRED AT APPROXIMATELY 415 PM.A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING WAS IN EFFECT FROM 410 PM UNTIL 515 PM.A TORNADO WARNING WAS IN EFFECT FROM 405 PM UNTIL 445 PM. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/pns/index.php?yr=2008&mo=02&dy=17