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April 15, 2011 · Dallas County · 2011
EF1

April 15, 2011

6:48 PM
Dallas County, Alabama · Near Marion (ZIP 36758)
Fatalities
0
Injuries
0
Path Length
0.2 mi
Max Width
100 yd
DateApril 15, 2011
Time6:48 PM
CountyDallas
CityMarion
Property Loss$25000.00M
Crop Loss$0
SourceNCEI 310535
NWS Birmingham

1.6 NNE Tyler - 2 SW Independence Winds were estimated around 130 mph. The tornado touched down in Dallas County near the intersection of Dallas County Roads 461 and 460. The tornado moved northeastward and crossed the Alabama River and entered Autauga County. The tornado then crossed County Road 1 and Highway 14 near Mulberry and lifted just after it crossed County Road 45. Hundreds of trees were snapped of or were uprooted along the path. Several structures were damaged. Start: 32.3526/-86.8712 End: 32.5100/-86.7500

NWS EF Scale: F2

Event Narrative

A tornado briefly touched down along County Road 272 where it uprooted several hardwood and softwood trees. One mobile home sustained significant damage. Maximum winds were estimated to be 90 mph. The tornado lifted 0.1 miles northeast of County Road 272.

Episode Narrative

A potent storm system, which wreaked havoc across the eastern half of the United States on April 14-16, produced a significant and historic tornado outbreak across Central Alabama on April 15. Forty tornadoes, 30 of which touched down in Central Alabama, occurred in the state. At the time, this set a new record for number of tornadoes within the state from one event. This record was broken on April 27, 2011. ||A surface low developed across the Central Plains on Thursday, April 14, and strengthened as it moved into the mid-Mississippi River Valley. In response, surface dew points in the middle to upper 60s surged northward into Central Alabama and deep vertical wind shear increased, providing support for tornadic supercell development. A weakening line of thunderstorms moved into northwest Central Alabama early Friday morning. The southern end of this line intensified by mid day as it encountered a more unstable airmass. South of the line, supercells formed in Mississippi and tracked eastward into west Central Alabama. The entire system pushed east across the area over the course of about twelve hours, exiting east Central Alabama in the early morning hours on Saturday, April 16. In addition to the thirty tornadoes, the storm system produced widespread straight line wind damage and numerous large hail reports.

Outbreak Context

Part of 43-tornado outbreak on April 15, 2011

EF1Clarke CountyView →EF0Choctaw CountyView →EF0Choctaw CountyView →EF1Choctaw, Marengo CountyView →EF2Washington CountyView →EF2Sumter CountyView →EF1Monroe CountyView →EF3Greene, Tuscaloosa CountyView →EF2Hale CountyView →EF2Sumter CountyView →EF1Bibb CountyView →EF2Sumter, Greene CountyView →EF2Greene, Hale CountyView →EF0Shelby CountyView →EF3Marengo County1 fatalView →EF2Monroe CountyView →EF2Marengo CountyView →EF2Monroe, Butler CountyView →EF2Marengo CountyView →EF1Shelby CountyView →EF0Perry CountyView →EF2Choctaw, Marengo CountyView →EF2Perry CountyView →EF1Dallas CountyView →EF0Lowndes CountyView →EF1Dallas CountyView →EF1Autauga CountyView →EF1Autauga CountyView →EF0Autauga CountyView →EF2Clarke CountyView →EF1Dallas CountyView →EF0Elmore CountyView →EF1Autauga CountyView →EF2Autauga CountyView →EF0Mobile CountyView →EF2Monroe CountyView →EF3Autauga County3 fatalView →EF2Butler CountyView →EF2Elmore, Coosa, Tallapoosa CountyView →EF1Escambia CountyView →EF1Tallapoosa CountyView →EF2Escambia, Conecuh, Covington CountyView →
Shared Episode Narrative

A potent storm system, which wreaked havoc across the eastern half of the United States on April 14-16, produced a significant and historic tornado outbreak across Central Alabama on April 15. Forty tornadoes, 30 of which touched down in Central Alabama, occurred in the state. At the time, this set a new record for number of tornadoes within the state from one event. This record was broken on April 27, 2011. ||A surface low developed across the Central Plains on Thursday, April 14, and strengthened as it moved into the mid-Mississippi River Valley. In response, surface dew points in the middle to upper 60s surged northward into Central Alabama and deep vertical wind shear increased, providing support for tornadic supercell development. A weakening line of thunderstorms moved into northwest Central Alabama early Friday morning. The southern end of this line intensified by mid day as it encountered a more unstable airmass. South of the line, supercells formed in Mississippi and tracked eastward into west Central Alabama. The entire system pushed east across the area over the course of about twelve hours, exiting east Central Alabama in the early morning hours on Saturday, April 16. In addition to the thirty tornadoes, the storm system produced widespread straight line wind damage and numerous large hail reports.

Source Data
NCEI Event ID: 310535
SWDI Tornado ID: 2011-04-15T23:40:54Z_KBMX_J9
SWDI Radar Site: KBMX
SWDI Signature: TVS

See Also

0.2 mi100 yd wide