The National Weather Service in Huntsville has done a preliminary assessment of this morning’s MCS (mesoscale convective system) that created so much wind damage in the northern part of the state. Unfortunately, a fatality occurred in Colbert County in the Locust Shores community.
Dr. Tim Coleman explains how it migrated south into the Birmingham area as a gravity wave here: Gravity Wave Last Night.
This is what the NWS Huntsville released this afternoon:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
420 PM CDT THU AUG 4 2011
…PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY INFORMATION FROM OVERNIGHT AND EARLY
MORNING STORMS…
A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY OF THE DAMAGE INCURRED ACROSS A LARGE
SWATH OF SOUTHERN TENNESSEE AND NORTHERN ALABAMA HAS BEEN COMPLETED
BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PERSONNEL. INITIAL FINDINGS ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
* EVENT TYPE: STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS
* EVENT DATE: SEVERAL WAVES OF SEVERE WEATHER FROM LATE ON AUGUST 3RD
TO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS OF AUGUST 4TH
* ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 110.0 MPH
* FATALITIES: 1 IN THE LOCUST SHORES COMMUNITY OF COLBERT COUNTY
* SUMMARY: SEVERAL CLUSTERS OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITHIN A LARGER
COMPLEX OFTEN REFERRED TO AS A MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM IMPACTED
A WIDE SWATH OF THE LOWER TENNESSEE VALLEY. THIS SURVEY LOOKED AT A
SUBSET OF THE DAMAGE BASED ON INITIAL OVERNIGHT REPORTS TO
ASCERTAIN THE PEAK INTENSITY AND TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF THE
DAMAGE. BASED ON THE INITIAL SURVEY…ALL THE DAMAGE WAS DEEMED TO
BE THE RESULT OF INTENSE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.
A LARGE AREA OF SIGNIFICANT TREE DAMAGE WAS NOTED ACROSS
MADISON…LIMESTONE…AND MORGAN COUNTIES WITH EMBEDDED AREAS OF
LIGHT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. SPECIFICALLY…DAMAGE WAS NOTED TO A
BUILDING AT MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER. ANALYSIS OF RADAR DATA
INDICATES THIS WAS CLEARLY THE RESULT OF STRAIGHTLINE WINDS…AND
COINCIDENT WITH THE 69 MPH GUST AT HUNTSVILLE INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT.
ALONG HIGHWAY 20 IN DECATUR…A SERIES OF WOODEN POWER POLES WERE
SNAPPED…SEVERAL NEAR THE BASE. ONE CONCRETE POLE WAS TAKEN DOWN
TO THE GROUND ALONG THIS SAME LINE OF POLES. BASED ON DAMAGE
INDICATORS…AND TAKING INTO ACCOUNT WEIGHT LOADING…PEAK WINDS
WERE ESTIMATED AT NEAR 110 MPH IN THIS AREA. IT SHOULD ALSO BE
NOTED THAT AT LEAST ONE PLANE WAS FLIPPED OVER AT PRYOR FIELD. MANY
CUSTOMERS REMAIN WITHOUT POWER IN THIS AREA.
IN COLBERT AND LAUDERDALE COUNTIES…ADDITIONAL WIND DAMAGE WAS
ALSO NOTED WITH THE SECOND CLUSTER OF STORMS. THE MAJORITY OF
DAMAGE WAS TO TREES WITH MANY HARDWOODS UPROOTED OR SNAPPED IN THE
EASTERN PORTIONS OF LAUDERDALE COUNTY. ANOTHER AREA OF RATHER
INTENSE DAMAGE WAS NOTED WEST OF TUSCUMBIA IN COLBERT COUNTY.
HERE…IN THE LOCUST SHORES COMMUNITY…SEVERAL TREES WERE UPROOTED
AND SNAPPED. SEVERAL ROOFS SUSTAINED LIGHT DAMAGE. ALONG LOCUST
ROAD…A LARGE OAK TREE FELL ONTO A TRAILER KILLING ONE OF THE
OCCUPANTS. THE WIND IN THIS AREA WAS DEEMED TO BE AROUND 80 MPH.
THESE FINDINGS ARE PRELIMINARY AND ARE SUBJECT TO ADJUSTMENT.
PICTURES AND SUMMARY MATERIALS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB PAGE
AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE /ALL LOWER CASE/.
SURVEYED BY: DARDEN
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