| May
10, 2008 Severe Weather |
|
| Preliminary
Storm Survey Information |
| Two storm surveys have been completed examining
storm damage that occurred late Saturday and early Sunday, May 10-11th. Information
found in these surveys is described below. All tornado
ratings are using the Enhanced Fujita Scale. |
|
| Southern
Cullman County |
| Rating |
EF-2 |
Peak Wind |
120 mph |
| Path Length |
13.3 miles |
Peak Path Width |
1/4 mile |
|
| Several debris paths were seen across southern Cullman
county. The most significant damage occurred along Highway
91, in the vicinity of the town of Colony. Severeal chicken
houses were destroyed and numerous large trees were snapped
and uprooted. Elsewhere, significant tree damage was seen
around Arkadelphia, along county roads 8 and 35. Spotty damage
was also seen in extreme northeast Walker County and just
east of Interstate 65, near Black Bottom, in association with
this tornado.
This National Weather Service radar image from
12:48am shows a tight velocity couplet near Arkadelphia in
southern Cullman County. The base reflectivity product in
the left panel shows rainfall intensity. The storm relative
velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in
green) and away (in red) from the radar in Shelby County,
AL.
|
This is an areal photograph of tree damage
along the tornado path. The convergent pattern of the
fallen trees is a tell-tale sign the damage was caused
by a tornado and not straight line winds. |
The tornado demolished these chicken houses
along Alabama Highway 91 between Arkadelphia and Colony.
|
This radio tower was no match for the tornado's
violent winds. |
A tree fell on this home, causing considerable
damage to the roof. Several other homes in the area experienced
relatively minor structural damage. |
|
| |
Western Lauderdale County |
| Rating |
EF-1 |
Peak Wind |
100 mph |
| Path Length |
1.6 miles |
Peak Path
Width |
250 yards |
|
The tornado touched down near a cove along the Tennessee River and moved east northeast, nearly paralleling County Road 14 halfway between the Wright and Rhodesville communities. Extensive tree damage was observed with multiple large trees uprooted and many medium size tree trunks snapped. The heaviest damage occurred to a farm where an all metal barn was completely destroyed and an awning adjacent to another outbuilding was ripped off. The metal roofing was catapulted approximately 1/2 of a mile by the tornado.
This National Weather Service radar image from
11:14pm shows a mesocyclone, which was producing a tornado
at the time, moving over the Rhodesville area. Another mesocyclone
can be seen just west of Tuscumbia. Though no tornado damage
was found in association with this feature, a funnel cloud
was reported over Tuscumbia. The base reflectivity product
in the left panel shows rainfall intensity. The storm relative
velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in
green) and away (in red) from the radar at Columbus AFB, MS.
|
This metal barn was completely destroyed
by the tornado. Scrap metal from the structure was blown
as far as a half a mile away. |
This is one of several large trees that
were uprooted or snapped along the tornado's 1.6 mile
long path. |
|
| |
Northeastern Lauderdale County
|
| Rating |
EF-1 |
Peak Wind |
95 mph |
| Path Length |
1.5 miles |
Peak Path Width |
250 yards |
|
| The tornado touched down along County Roads 181 and 515 at approximately midnight, and uprooted and snapped several trees in it's path. The tornado also produced minor structural damage to an outbuilding.
This National Weather Service radar image from
midnight on the 11th shows a velocity couplet just north of
Anderson at the time this tornado was occurring. The base
reflectivity product in the left panel shows rainfall intensity.
The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows
winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at
Hytop, AL.
|
Several large trees were downed along CR
181 and CR 515. |
Several large trees were downed along the
path of the tornado. There was also minor structural damage
to an outbuilding in the area. |
|
| |
To see all storm reports from this event, click here.
|
www.weather.gov 
National Weather Service Forecast Office
