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April 27, 2011 · Perry County · 2011
EF1

April 27, 2011

7:50 PM
Perry County, Alabama · Near Marion (ZIP 36756)
Fatalities
0
Injuries
0
Path Length
4.2 mi
Max Width
100 yd
DateApril 27, 2011
Time7:50 PM
CountyPerry
CityMarion
Property Loss$1300000.00M
Crop Loss$0
SourceNCEI 315311
NWS Birmingham

0.4 ENE Marion Perry Airport - 2.2 NE Vilula National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage across south central Perry County where a tornado touched down 5.5 miles south of Marion, 1 mile west of CR 35 and tracked northeastward. The tornado destroyed an outbuilding and damaged the roof of a single family home along CR 38. The tornado strengthened to EF-1 with winds of 90 mph as it crossed CR 45, north of Vilula. Many trees were knocked down near the Faith Chapel Baptist Church. The tornado damaged a couple barns along Kynard Road and quickly dissipated just east of CR 4. Start: 32.5519/-87.3142 End: 32.5748/-87.2466

NWS EF Scale: F1

Event Narrative

A tornado touched down in Smith County, Mississippi and tracked through Jasper and Clarke Counties (See Storm Data Jackson), where it caused EF4 rated damage. The tornado then crossed into Choctaw County (See Storm Data Mobile) Alabama, where it caused EF3 rated damage. The tornado tracked across portions of Sumter, Marengo and western Perry Counties, before it dissipated. The tornado crossed into Perry County north of Uniontown and produced significant tree damage. The tornado crossed AL Hwy 183, where it damaged two outbuildings and destroyed a grain silo. The tornado lifted east of AL Hwy 183, northeast of Uniontown.

Episode Narrative

A powerful storm system crossed the Southeast United States on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, resulting in a large and deadly tornado outbreak. This epic event broke the record for number of tornadoes in a day for the state of Alabama, becoming the most significant tornado outbreak in the state���s history. ||Central Alabama had two rounds of severe weather that day. During the early morning hours, a Quasi-Linear Convective System quickly moved across the northern half of the National Weather Service, Birmingham county warning area. Straight line winds of 90 mph (78kts) or greater and 11 tornadoes lead to widespread damage and power outages. During the afternoon, long-lived supercell thunderstorms produced long-track, strong and violent tornadoes. Destruction and loss of life across many towns and communities was devastating. ||The hardest hit areas included Shottsville and Hackleburg, both in Marion County, where winds of 160 mph and 210 mph respectively, caused unimagineable damage. Cordova, in Walker County, was hit twice; by a tornado along the Quasi-Linear Convective System during the early morning hours and again in the afternoon by a long-track EF4 tornado. A long track tornado moved across the city of Tuscaloosa and the western suburbs of Birmingham, resulting in the complete destruction of whole neighborhoods and numerous injuries and fatalities in those heavily populated areas. The same parent supercell produced another violent tornado in east Central Alabama as it tracked across St. Clair and Calhoun Counties, resulting in additional fatalities and incredible damage to a number of neighborhoods. Another violent EF4 tornado tracked across portions of Elmore and Tallapoosa Counties, including Lake Martin, destroying numerous homes and a large section of a mobile home park. ||Most of the violent tornadoes from this day were captured on video by a number of people, including storm spotters and chasers, as well as numerous television news crews and remotely controlled web-enabled video cameras. This allowed unprecedented coverage and viewing of this historic event in real time from people worldwide.

Outbreak Context

Part of 59-tornado outbreak on April 27, 2011

EF1Unknown CountyView →EF1Lauderdale CountyView →EF2Pickens CountyView →EF3Pickens, Tuscaloosa CountyView →EF1Fayette CountyView →EF3Tuscaloosa, Jefferson CountyView →EF3Walker County9 fatalView →EF2Cullman County1 fatalView →EF1Shelby, Jefferson CountyView →EF2Jefferson, Blount County1 fatalView →EF2Jefferson County1 fatalView →EF1Blount, Marshall CountyView →EF2St. Clair County13 fatalView →EF1Cullman, Marshall CountyView →EF1Marshall CountyView →EF2Marshall, DeKalb CountyView →EF1Marshall CountyView →EF1Marshall CountyView →EF1Marshall CountyView →EF1Marshall CountyView →EF1Marshall CountyView →EF0Marshall CountyView →EF1Marshall CountyView →EF1Marshall CountyView →EF1Marshall CountyView →EF1Jackson, DeKalb County1 fatalView →EF2DeKalb, Jackson County25 fatalView →EF1DeKalb County25 fatalView →EF0Limestone CountyView →EF1Morgan, Limestone CountyView →EF0Limestone CountyView →EF1Limestone CountyView →EF1Limestone, Madison CountyView →EF1Madison CountyView →EF1Madison CountyView →EF0Madison CountyView →EF4Cullman, Morgan, Marshall County6 fatalView →EF5Franklin, Lawrence, Morgan County72 fatalView →EF4Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Fayette County13 fatalView →EF4DeKalb County14 fatalView →EF1Madison CountyView →EF4Greene, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson County64 fatalView →EF1Limestone, Madison CountyView →EF4Jackson County1 fatalView →EF3Marion, Winston CountyView →EF3Greene, Hale, Bibb County7 fatalView →EF3Fayette CountyView →EF5DeKalb County25 fatalView →EF4St. Clair, Calhoun, Etowah County22 fatalView →EF1Hale, Bibb CountyView →EF0Cullman CountyView →EF1Bibb, Shelby CountyView →EF4Elmore, Tallapoosa, Chambers County7 fatalView →EF1Shelby, Talladega CountyView →EF2DeKalb County25 fatalView →EF1Chambers CountyView →EF1Chambers CountyView →EF0Chilton CountyView →
Shared Episode Narrative

A powerful storm system crossed the Southeast United States on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, resulting in a large and deadly tornado outbreak. This epic event broke the record for number of tornadoes in a day for the state of Alabama, becoming the most significant tornado outbreak in the state���s history. ||Central Alabama had two rounds of severe weather that day. During the early morning hours, a Quasi-Linear Convective System quickly moved across the northern half of the National Weather Service, Birmingham county warning area. Straight line winds of 90 mph (78kts) or greater and 11 tornadoes lead to widespread damage and power outages. During the afternoon, long-lived supercell thunderstorms produced long-track, strong and violent tornadoes. Destruction and loss of life across many towns and communities was devastating. ||The hardest hit areas included Shottsville and Hackleburg, both in Marion County, where winds of 160 mph and 210 mph respectively, caused unimagineable damage. Cordova, in Walker County, was hit twice; by a tornado along the Quasi-Linear Convective System during the early morning hours and again in the afternoon by a long-track EF4 tornado. A long track tornado moved across the city of Tuscaloosa and the western suburbs of Birmingham, resulting in the complete destruction of whole neighborhoods and numerous injuries and fatalities in those heavily populated areas. The same parent supercell produced another violent tornado in east Central Alabama as it tracked across St. Clair and Calhoun Counties, resulting in additional fatalities and incredible damage to a number of neighborhoods. Another violent EF4 tornado tracked across portions of Elmore and Tallapoosa Counties, including Lake Martin, destroying numerous homes and a large section of a mobile home park. ||Most of the violent tornadoes from this day were captured on video by a number of people, including storm spotters and chasers, as well as numerous television news crews and remotely controlled web-enabled video cameras. This allowed unprecedented coverage and viewing of this historic event in real time from people worldwide.

Source Data
NCEI Event ID: 315311

See Also

4.2 mi100 yd wide