December 10, 2012

0.5 W Samson National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage just northwest of downtown Birmingham. It has been determined that the damage was consistent with a tornado. Maximum winds were estimated up to 90 mph. The tornado touched down just west of 3rd Place West or just to the east of the Birmingham Farmers Market. From there, it moved to the northeast across a light industrial warehouse area, striking a large metal building. Several overhead doors at the loading dock were blown in, which then blew out about 25 percent of the roof off the building. Debris from this structure was found up to a mile away. The tornado continued northeastward through a residential area, causing damage to 29 homes, 2 of which had major damage and one of which lost its roof entirely. A church and two other businesses were damaged near the intersection of Finley Blvd and 16th Street. The tornado lifted near the intersection of 24th Court North and 18th Street North, just west of Interstate 65. Start: 33.5359/-86.8436 End:  33.5420/-86.8268

NWS EF Scale: F 1 Polygon