Tornado outbreak, at least 2 dead, January 22-23

[Annie Oakley]

Thanks for being here and reporting all this.....the pictures in this story tell it all.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/2 ... 78#s630325

[Texas Snowman]

As per @JimCantore on Twitter, NOAA has rated the Clay, Alabama tornado this morning as an EF-3 with ~150 mph winds.

[Brent]

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
350 PM CST MON JAN 23 2012

...UPDATE FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY TORNADO...

METEOROLOGISTS THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL SURVEYING NUMEROUS
COUNTIES OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS TO CONFIRM TORNADO DAMAGE. SURVEY
TEAMS ARE SCHEDULED FOR TUSCALOOSA...JEFFERSON...CALHOUN AND ST.
CLAIR COUNTIES TODAY. OTHER DAMAGE AREAS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN AREAS
OF CENTRAL ALABAMA WILL BE SURVEYED ON TUESDAY.

TEAM ONE: JEFFERSON COUNTY

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM WILL BE SURVEYING THE
NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE JEFFERSON COUNTY OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS TO
DETERMINE THE PATH LENGTH AND WIDTH OF A LONG TRACK TORNADO THAT
CROSSED THROUGH NORTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY. METEOROLOGISTS WENT TO
THE HARDEST HIT AREAS TODAY AND DID CONFIRM AN EF-3 TORNADO STRUCK
THE TOWN OF CLAY. WIND SPEEDS FROM THIS TORNADO WERE ESTIMATED AT
150 MPH.

TEAM TWO: TUSCALOOSA COUNTY

METEOROLOGISTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL BE CONDUCTING
SURVEYS IN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY. A SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM FORMED
OVER THE COUNTY DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AND PRODUCED DAMAGE
OVER THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE COUNTY.

TEAM THREE: ST. CLAIR AND CALHOUN COUNTIES

METEOROLOGISTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL BE CONDUCTING
SURVEYS IN ST. CLAIR AND CALHOUN COUNTIES TODAY. A SUPERCELL
THUNDERSTORM FORMED OVER THE COUNTY DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
AND PRODUCED DAMAGE OVER THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE COUNTY.



ADDITIONAL PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED PERIODICALLY
THROUGH THE DAY...AS SURVEYS TEAMS REPORT BACK THEIR FINDINGS.

A MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE SUCCESS OF OUR SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
PROGRAM IS THE RECEIPT OF STORM REPORTS FROM ALL OUR CUSTOMERS AND
PARTNERS ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA. IF YOU WITNESSED OR ARE AWARE OF
ANY STORM DAMAGE DUE TO HIGH WINDS OR TORNADOES...PLEASE CONTACT
YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE...OR CALL OUR STORM REPORTING
HOTLINE AT 1-800-856-0758.

$$

[vbhoutex]

Thanks to everyone who helps us with reporting the ongoing severe weather events. You are part of what makes S2K so special!! We couldn't cover these events like we do without everyone's help. I just pray we are a help to others.

[Brent]

[CrazyC83]

Is that what used to be a house in the front of the bottom picture? That looks like higher than EF3 damage if so.

[CrazyC83]

Some key notes on the strongest tornado are highlighted.

TORNADO #5...CENTER POINT TORNADO (JEFFERSON AND ST CLAIR)...

EVENT DATE: JANUARY 23, 2012
EVENT TYPE: EF-3
ESTIMATED PEAK WINDS (MPH): 150
INJURIES/FATALITIES: 100/1
EVENT START TIME/LOCATION COORDINATES: 33.6228/-86.7411 AT 358 AM
EVENT END TIME/LOCATION COORDINATES: 33.7197/-86.4963 AT 420 AM
DAMAGE PATH LENGTH (IN MILES): 15.5
DAMAGE WIDTH (IN YARDS): 800

WARNINGS: A TORNADO WARNING WAS IN EFFECT FROM 332 AM UNTIL 430 AM.
A TORNADO WARNING WAS IN EFFECT FROM 415 AM UNTIL 515 AM.

WATCHES: TORNADO WATCH #7 WAS IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM UNTIL 6 AM.
TORNADO WATCH #11 WAS IN EFFECT FROM 245 AM UNTIL 10 AM.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS HAVE SURVEYED THE DAMAGE
BETWEEN TARRANT...CENTER POINT...CLAY...AND ARGO. THE TORNADO
TOUCHED DOWN ALONG PAWNEE VILLAGE ROAD ABOUT 3.25 MILES NORTHEAST OF
TARRANT WHERE SEVERAL BUSINESSES SUSTAINED ROOF AND WALL DAMAGE. THE
TORNADO THEN TRACKED FURTHER NORTHEAST ACROSS PINSON VALLEY PARKWAY
WHERE SEVERAL ADDITIONAL BUSINESSES WERE HEAVILY DAMAGED OR
DESTROYED.

IN THE CITY OF CENTER POINT, THE TORNADO EXHIBITED WIND SPEEDS OF
120 MPH. THE MOST EXTREME DAMAGE WAS SUSTAINED BY THE CENTER POINT
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. AS THE TORNADO MOVED THROUGH THE AREA OF THE
SCHOOL, THE SOUTHWESTERN-MOST EXPOSED EXTERIOR WINDOWS OF THE SCHOOL
WERE BLOWN IN AND AS A RESULT, THE WIND FROM THE TORNADO WAS GIVEN
THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET THROUGH THE DROP-DOWN TILE CEILINGS TO AN
EXTREMELY EXPOSED ALUMINUM FRAMED ROOF. THE ROOF ACTED AS A CANOPY
AND AS A RESULT...A LARGE PORTION OF THE ROOF ON THE WESTERN END OF
THE SCHOOL WAS REMOVED. THERE WAS ALSO MAJOR EXTRANEOUS DAMAGE
SUSTAINED TO THE SAME END OF THE SCHOOL AS THE WIND WHIPPED THROUGH
THE HALLWAYS AND CLASSROOMS. IN THIS AREA, THE WIDTH OF THE TORNADO
PATH WAS APPROXIMATELY 880 YARDS WIDE.

TWO BLOCKS TO THE NORTHEAST, THE TORNADO CROSSED CENTER POINT
PARKWAY CAUSING DAMAGE TO NUMEROUS BUSINESSES AT AND AROUND 24TH
STREET. TWO GAS STATIONS SUSTAINED PEELED BACK CANOPIES, MULTIPLE
SMALL BUSINESSES, SUCH AS A BRANCH BANK AND FAST FOOD RESTAURANT
SUSTAINED MINOR AMOUNTS OF ROOF LOSS AND A METAL BUILDING STRUCTURE
SUSTAINED SOME WIND DAMAGE, THOUGH MOST OF IT WAS ANTECEDENT TO A
TREE FALLING ON THE WESTERN-MOST WALL. ADDITIONALLY, A STRIP MALL
SUSTAINED MINOR ROOF DAMAGE. ALL DAMAGE IN THIS AREA WAS CONSISTENT
WITH WINDS OF 100 MPH.

THE TORNADO CONTINUED TRAVELING TO THE NORTHEAST, CROSSING OVER
SWEENEY VALLEY ROAD, CAUSING MINOR ROOF DAMAGE TO NUMEROUS HOMES
ALONG THE WAY. WHEN THE TORNADO CROSSED OLD SPRINGVILLE ROAD, THE
INTENSITY INCREASED TO APPROXIMATELY 150 MPH. THESE WINDS SPEEDS
CAUSED DAMAGE TO DOZENS OF HOMES IN THE GEORGE BROOK NEIGHBORHOOD.
THE COMMON DENOMINATOR FOR THE HOMES THAT SUSTAINED COMPLETE DAMAGE
COMPARED TO THOSE WHO ONLY SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE IS THOSE WITH THE
MAJOR DAMAGE HAD PARTIAL BRICK VENEER EXTERIOR WALLS. THOUGH THERE
WERE NO BRICK STRAPPINGS VISIBLE...THE BRICK WALLS SEEMED TO HELP
HOLD WALLS TOGETHER SLIGHTLY BETTER. THE HOMES WITHOUT THE BRICK
VENEER HAD ALL EXTERIOR WALLS COLLAPSE. NONE OF THE HOMES HAD
J-BOLTS IN THE SILLS...RATHER ALL WALLS WERE SINGLE-TOE NAILED TO
THE EXTERIOR SILLS. THIS GREATLY DIMINISHED THE INTEGRITY OF ALL
EXTERIOR WALLS. FORTUNATELY, ALL HOMES ENDED UP WITH AT LEAST A
SINGLE INTERIOR ROOM STANDING, GIVING CREDENCE TO TAKING COVER IN
THE INTERIOR-MOST ROOM OF THE HOUSE.

AS THE TORNADO MOVED FURTHER TO THE NORTHEAST, IT CLIPPED HARNESS
CIRCLE IN THE NORTHWOODS NEIGHBORHOOD. TWO HOMES SUSTAINED COMPLETE
DAMAGE AS WINDS ENTERED EACH HOME THROUGH SPLIT-LEVEL ENTRANCES. IT
WAS IN ONE OF THESE TWO HOMES WHERE A 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL LOST HER LIFE
IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO TAKE COVER. WINDS WERE ABLE TO OVERCOME
THE EXTERIOR WALLS IN EACH HOME, CAUSING THE WALLS TO SIMPLY
COLLAPSE OUTWARD AND THE SECOND FLOORS TO BE PUSHED UPSTREAM FROM
WHERE THEY ORIGINALLY STOOD. ALL HOMES EXHIBITED SINGLE-TOED
NAILING ON EXTERIOR MAIN FLOOR WALLS AND THOUGH STRAPPING WAS
VISIBLE, IT DIDN`T SEEM TO BE INSTALLED FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN TO
HOLD THE EXTERIOR BRICK WALLS IN PLACE. UNFORTUNATELY...THE BRICK
WALLS WERE COMPROMISED, AS WELL. NUMEROUS OTHER HOMES SUSTAINED
MINOR TO MODERATE ROOF DAMAGE. WINDS IN THIS AREA WERE CONSISTENT
WITH AN EF-3 TORNADO OF 150 MPH, WITH A WIDTH OF APPROXIMATELY 600
YARDS.

FURTHER TO THE NORTHEAST, THE TORNADO CROSSED ANOTHER RIDGE AND
ENTERED THE LEGACY NEIGHBORHOOD IN CLAY. NUMEROUS HOMES THROUGHOUT
THE NEIGHBORHOOD SUSTAINED MINOR TO MODERATE ROOF DAMAGE, BUT HOMES
ON PLYMOUTH ROCK DRIVE SUSTAINED THE HEAVIEST DAMAGE. MOST HOMES ON
PLYMOUTH ROCK DRIVE WERE OF THE SPLIT-LEVEL VARIETY, WHICH ALLOWED
FOR THESE STRONG WINDS TO HAVE AN ENTRANCE POINT OF GREATEST
DESTRUCTION. ON ABOUT 8 HOMES, EXTERIOR WALLS COLLAPSED, CAUSING
THE SECOND FLOORS OF EACH OF THE HOMES TO EITHER COLLAPSE INWARD OR
TOPPLE OVER INTO THE YARD, DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO THE HOME.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE WALLS WAS OF THE SINGLE-TOE NAILED VARIETY,
CAUSING DIMINISHED STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY. NO J-BOLTS WERE VISIBLE.
WINDS IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD WERE ALSO CONSISTENT WITH AN EF-3 TORNADO
OF 150 MPH, WITH A WIDTH OF APPROXIMATELY 600 YARDS.

THE TORNADO BEGAN TO WEAKEN AS IT APPROACHED INTERSTATE 59 CROSSING
INTO ST CLAIR COUNTY JUST NORTH OF ARGO WHERE SEVERAL ADDITIONAL
HOMES SUSTAINED DAMAGE ALONG WITH NUMEROUS TREES UPROOTED AND
SNAPPED. THE TORNADO BEGAN TO LIFT NEAR HIDDEN VALLEY DRIVE AND
COUNTRY LIVING CIRCLE.

AT THE TIME OF THIS REPORT 231 HOMES AND UNSPECIFIED BUSINESSES WERE
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. THE TORNADO DAMAGE PATH WAS APPROXIMATELY 15.5
MILES LONG AND WAS 880 YARDS WIDE AT ITS WIDEST POINT. SPECIAL
THANKS TO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN HUNTSVILLE FOR THEIR
HELP WITH THE DAMAGE SURVEY.

[CrazyC83]

Based on those descriptions, EF3 (even low-end unless some higher level buildings sustained more severe damage) seems reasonable, taking back the picture view. If it were EF4 or higher, there would be no safe place above ground in the houses that take that level of damage.

[Stephanie]

Is that what used to be a house in the front of the bottom picture? That looks like higher than EF3 damage if so.

It looks higher than an EF3 to mean as well.

Thanks for that detailed report Crazy. Didn't we start last year's severe weather early in the year too? My God I hope we don't see another Joplin or Tuscaloosa!

[vbhoutex]

Is that what used to be a house in the front of the bottom picture? That looks like higher than EF3 damage if so.

I think that is a cul-de-sac center or turn in the street with debris strewn all across it. If it was a house then definitely looks higher than EF3 to me too.

[CrazyC83]

Is that what used to be a house in the front of the bottom picture? That looks like higher than EF3 damage if so.

It looks higher than an EF3 to mean as well.

Thanks for that detailed report Crazy. Didn't we start last year's severe weather early in the year too? My God I hope we don't see another Joplin or Tuscaloosa!

Pictures can be deceiving though. The report shows the difference between that tornado and a Joplin or Tuscaloosa. At least this one was survivable in a normal house (sadly 2 still died, shows actions are important). Those were not.

[Stephanie]

Is that what used to be a house in the front of the bottom picture? That looks like higher than EF3 damage if so.

It looks higher than an EF3 to mean as well.

Thanks for that detailed report Crazy. Didn't we start last year's severe weather early in the year too? My God I hope we don't see another Joplin or Tuscaloosa!

Pictures can be deceiving though. The report shows the difference between that tornado and a Joplin or Tuscaloosa. At least this one was survivable in a normal house (sadly 2 still died, shows actions are important). Those were not.

Great points.