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October 26, 2010 · Lawrence County · 2010
EF1

October 26, 2010

12:23 PM
Lawrence County, Alabama · Near Decatur (ZIP 35645)
Fatalities
0
Injuries
0
Path Length
1.0 mi
Max Width
50 yd
DateOctober 26, 2010
Time12:23 PM
CountyLawrence
CityDecatur
Property Loss$10000.00M
Crop Loss$0
SourceNCEI 259754
NWS Birmingham

1.5 NNW Hillsboro - 1.4 N Hillboro An EF-1 tornado with winds up to 95 mph touched down briefly along Highway 20 near County Road 217 in Hillsboro. The tornado uprooted several trees and snapped several hardwood trees were snapped. The tornado lifted west of County Road 400. Start: 34.649/-87.1943 End: 34.6495/-87.176

NWS EF Scale: F1

Event Narrative

An EF-1 tornado with winds up to 95 mph touched down briefly along Highway 20 near County Road 217 in Hillsboro. The tornado uprooted several trees and snapped several hardwood trees. The tornado lifted west of County Road 400.

Episode Narrative

A potent upper level trough of low pressure and strong upper jet streak pushed through the Tennessee Valley on the 26th. Unseasonably high temperatures in the upper 70s to lower 80s and dew points in the upper 60s to near 70 produced an unstable environment. Deep layer shear was sufficient for supercell thunderstorms, while low level shear was quite strong as well. As a result, numerous supercell thunderstorms, many of them low topped, erupted in multiple bands across northern Alabama as early as late morning and lasted into the early evening hours. The storms brought the potential for severe weather for around eight hours. Many of the storms contained meso-cyclones, but only four produced brief weak tornadoes. Others produced wind damage associated with the rear flank downdrafts of the storms or with bowing segments.

Outbreak Context

Part of 5-tornado outbreak on October 26, 2010

Shared Episode Narrative

A potent upper level trough of low pressure and strong upper jet streak pushed through the Tennessee Valley on the 26th. Unseasonably high temperatures in the upper 70s to lower 80s and dew points in the upper 60s to near 70 produced an unstable environment. Deep layer shear was sufficient for supercell thunderstorms, while low level shear was quite strong as well. As a result, numerous supercell thunderstorms, many of them low topped, erupted in multiple bands across northern Alabama as early as late morning and lasted into the early evening hours. The storms brought the potential for severe weather for around eight hours. Many of the storms contained meso-cyclones, but only four produced brief weak tornadoes. Others produced wind damage associated with the rear flank downdrafts of the storms or with bowing segments.

Source Data
NCEI Event ID: 259754

See Also

1.0 mi50 yd wide