10 twisters confirmed so far in Thursday’s Alabama tornado outbreak

Published 6:13 am Monday, March 29, 2021

Alabama had at least 10 tornadoes Thursday, including an EF3 with winds of 140 mph in Shelby County, that caused extensive property damage, numerous injuries and multiple fatalities across the state, the National Weather Service said.

Preliminary results from the NWS show a continuous tornado path from near Helena to near Vandiver in Shelby County which caused EF2 damage in Pelham and EF3 damage in Eagle Point.

Survey teams confirmed one EF3 tornado, five EF2 tornadoes, three EF1 twisters and an EF0.  Final ratings are pending further review.

The 10 tornadoes that have been tracked and classified are:

  • Hale and Tuscaloosa counties — EF2, peak wind 120 mph, path 11.43 miles
  • Bibb, Shelby and St. Clair counties — EF3, peak wind 140 mph, path 50.36 miles
  • Pickens County — EF1, peak wind 90 mph, path 5.63 miles
  • Calhoun County —EF2, peak wind 130 mph, path 24.35 miles
  • Cherokee County — EF0, peak wind 75 mph, path 3.57 miles
  • Greene County — EF1, peak wind 100 mph, path 12.05 miles
  • Hale, Perry, Bibb, Chilton and Shelby counties — Preliminary EF2 (pending further review), peak wind 130 mph (preliminary), path 80.21 miles
  • Jefferson County — EF1, peak wind 90 mph, path 4.78 miles
  • Chilton and Coosa counties — EF2, peak wind 115 mph, path 13.94 miles
  • Clay and Randolph counties — EF2, peak wind 125 mph, path 27.73 miles