Wednesday, May 11, 2011

"Our" Tornado


This is our tornado; the one that came over our house
about 11:40am on April 27th. Turns out that it also 
lifted off our neighbor's roof (only 4 doors away); 
he didn't even know about it until a week later when 
holes appeared in his ceiling.
I'm thankful that this storm was 'ours' as those later
in the day caused far more destruction. 
(Pic was taken by principal at local elementary school where James works)
 
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
316 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2011

...PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY INFORMATION FROM LIMESTONE AND MADISONCOUNTIES...

...UPDATED FOR DISCREPANCY IN ESTIMATED PEAK WIND TO MAKE IT
CONSISTENT WITH AN EF-1 RATING...

A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY OF THE DAMAGE FROM A TORNADO THAT
IMPACTED EXTREME EASTERN LIMESTONE AND MADISON COUNTIES IN AREAS
NORTH OF CAPSHAW AND WINCHESTER ROADS...HAS BEEN COMPLETED BY
PERSONNEL FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THE UNIVERSITY OF
ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE. THIS TORNADO WAS PART OF SEVERAL THAT
IMPACTED MADISON AND LIMESTONE COUNTIES ON WEDNESDAY /APRIL 27/.
INITIAL FINDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS:


* EVENT TYPE: TORNADO
* EVENT DATE: 04/27/11
* EVENT TIME: 11:30 AM TO 12:05 PM CDT (ESTIMATED)

* ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 110 MPH
* PRELIMINARY RATING: EF-1

* PATH LENGTH: 24.2 MILES
* MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH: 200 YARDS

* BEGINNING POINT: 34.7554N / -86.8660W
* ENDING POINT:    34.8457N / -86.4435W

* SUMMARY: THIS TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 72 AND WEST OF
COUNTY ROAD 95 IN EXTREME EASTERN LIMESTONE COUNTY UPROOTING LARGE
HARDWOOD TREES PRIOR TO CROSSING HIGHWAY 72 NEAR COUNTY ROAD 99A.
THE TORNADO TRACKED TO THE EAST-NORTHEAST CROSSING CAPSHAW ROAD NEAR
OLD RAILROAD BED ROAD SNAPPING TREES AND REMOVING SHINGLES.  THE
MOST INTENSE DAMAGE OCCURRED BETWEEN SAM THOMAS ROAD AND WALL TRIANA
PRODUCING HIGH END EF-1 DAMAGE OF NUMEROUS SNAPPED POWER
POLES...SHEARED OFF HARDWOOD TREES...AND ROOF AND GUTTER DAMAGE.

THE TORNADO CROSSED HIGHWAY 53 NEAR DOUGLAS ROAD SNAPPING NUMEROUS
HARDWOOD TREES AND REMOVING SHINGLES.  THE TRACK CONTINUED TO THE
EAST-NORTHEAST ACROSS HIGHWAY 231 NEAR BOB WADE LANE PRODUCING MORE
ROOF AND TREE DAMAGE.  SEVERAL LARGE HARDWOOD TREES WERE SNAPPED IN
A CONVERGENT PATTERN BETWEEN MOORES MILL ROAD AND MACON LANE BEFORE
DISSIPATING TO THE EAST OF WINCHESTER ROAD IN THE DEPOSIT COMMUNITY.


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:  CROWE/KNUPP/MURPHY/WADE

$$

2 comments:

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

Praising God for your safety.

Renee said...

We are very thankful for our safety. I've learned of three families I know or am connected to in some way that lost their homes in the more destructive storms later in the day.