April 28, 2014

6 NW Ethelsville - 5 W Shaw A National Weather Service storm survey team investigated damage in northern Pickens County and determined it was consistent with an EF-2 tornado. This tornado originated in Lowndes County, Mississippi and continued into northern Pickens County for several miles. As the tornado entered Pickens County along County Road 30, multiple structures were damaged including several mobile homes and several site-built homes. The worst damage occurred along County Road 30 as a site-built home shifted off its foundation and trapped 10 people in the basement. All of them survived, but 5 people were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. County Road 30 also had several mobile homes that were completely destroyed along with one small concrete building that had its roof removed and one exterior wall completely destroyed. The tornado continued northeast across Highway 82 and began to weaken along Baines Road where several roofs sustained minor damage and several trees were uprooted. The tornado then rapidly dissipated near Tabernacle Road where only sporadic damage was found. It is also noteworthy that several damage points south of the tornado track were consistent with straight-line winds. Start: 33.4888/-88.2802 End: 33.5107/-88.1759

NWS Birmingham rating: EF2

A tornado initially touched down in Lowndes County, Mississippi, south of Columbus and traveled to the northeast, crossing the Alabama state line at County Road 30 in Pickens County. Tornado wind speeds were estimated at 115-120mph as it moved into Alabama. Along County Road 30, one site-built home was shifted off its foundation, trapping 10 people in the basement. There were also several mobile homes that were completely destroyed along with one small concrete building that had its roof removed and one exterior wall completely destroyed. The tornado continued northeast crossing U.S. Highway 82 and began to weaken along Bains Road, where several roofs sustained minor damage and several trees were uprooted. The tornado then rapidly dissipated near Tabernacle Road where only sporadic damage was found. It is also noteworthy that several damage points south of the tornado track were consistent with straight-line winds.

A large scale severe weather event began Saturday, April 26 and ended Wednesday, April 30th, producing several waves of severe weather from the Central Plains eastward through the Deep South, and across a significant portion of the eastern United States. Strong and violent tornadoes, very large hail, flash flooding, and damaging straight line winds accompanied this dynamic storm system. The most tornadoes occurred across the Deep South as the system moved into Mississippi and Alabama on Monday, April 28th. Supercell thunderstorms developed during the afternoon over eastern Mississippi and northwest Alabama in the warm sector well ahead of a cold front. The activity slowly spread east and southeast overnight, with this wave of severe storms ending early Tuesday morning. Storms redeveloped late Tuesday afternoon and moved into Central Alabama. A large area of rainfall across the northern Gulf Coast limited the amount of instability across the area, and storms remained below severe limits. The last wave of severe weather occurred early Wednesday morning across the south as an isolated storm produced large hail, as the system finally pulled east of the area.

Part of 22-tornado outbreak on April 28, 2014