1.0 SE Opelika - 2 NNE Beauregard A rare summertime Alabama tornado occurred during the late-afternoon hours of July 21, 2018 in central Lee County. A southeastward-moving thunderstorm fed off a primed atmosphere, characterized by strong instability and wind shear, with a few surface boundaries across eastern Alabama. The storm interacted with and ingested an outflow boundary, aiding in the development of a tornado. This storm also produced hail around golf ball size. The tornado uprooted numerous trees, with some trees and large branches snapped. In two locations, tree damage was fairly dense. Several homes and vehicles were impacted by fallen trees and large branches. The worst structural damage directly related to the wind was the removal of some shingles from roofs, and a rolled camper. Start: 32.6488/-85.3701 End: 32.5663/-85.3609

NWS EF Scale: F0

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in central Lee County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 85 mph. The tornado touched down in the city of Opelika near the intersection of South 3rd Street and Avenue D. The tornado tracked south and snapped or uprooted many trees before crossing Interstate 85. It then shifted towards the southeast as it crossed Chewacla Road, where it continued to snap or uproot trees. The tornado shifted back to a southerly track and crossed Highway 69 and Royal Drive. It then took a southwest track before lifting near Stringfellow Road.

A unseasonably cold core upper low was centered over the Ohio Valley States. Northwest flow aloft pushed several fast moving short wave troughs through East Alabama on July 21st and July 22nd. The combination of cold air aloft and moist low levels of the atmosphere produced very unstable conditions across east Alabama with CAPE values 4000-5000 J/kg each afternoon.