Five years ago, we were becoming increasingly concerned about a significant severe weather event that was unfolding across the Ohio and Tennessee River Valleys. Severe weather had already struck the night before across western Tennessee. Warm, moist and unstable air was spreading all the way into Indiana and Ohio that morning. Temperatures surged into the 80s across Alabama, including record highs of 82F at Birmingham and 83F at Muscle Shoals. A second powerful disturbance was poised to move out of the Central Plains. Wind fields aloft were extremely strong, with a 100 knot jet max at 18,000 feet. With high instability and strong wind shear expected to be in place, long lived supercells and long track tornadoes were forecast. The northwestern quarter of Alabama was in a rare high risk outlook (only the second of the year) early that morning with a moderate risk covering the northern half of the state.
A PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) Tornado Watch was issued for northern and central Alabama at 5:25 p.m. The first tornado of the evening touched down in Fayette County then roared into Walker County. We watched live video from John Oldshue in the StormChaster as continuous lightning from the storm lit the sky southwest of Carbon Hill like a strobe. We knew there had to be a big tornado in there. It turns out there was, and the F3 tornado roared across the western and northern sections of Carbon Hill. The tornado was on the ground for 44 miles and resulted in four fatalities.
The second tornado of the night roared into Lamar County after causing F3 damage around Columbus, Mississippi. An alert policeman’s warning to a church congregation in Columbus sent them into a place of safety before the tornado destroyed their activities building. A small tornado touched down in Pickens County. The fourth tornado (and worst of the evening) touched down in Fayette County around 8:15 p.m. The Saragossa Tornado became violent as it crossed U.S. 78 and struck its namesake community. The second F3 tornado of the night in Alabama remained on the ground for 73 miles into Cullman County. Seven people died in this tornado.
Additional tornadoes touched down through the evening hours in places like Ethelsville, Boley Springs, Dora, Allgood, Oneonta and Centre. A total of twelve people died in the state, despite excellent warnings. Most of the deaths occurred in mobile homes.
