3 SW Wetumpka - 4 NE Eclectic The tornado began just southwest of Wetumpka and quickly intensified as it moved northeast into downtown Wetumpka. The extent of damage done to multiple structures in Wetumpka indicated a tornado with high-end EF-2 wind speeds. The degree of damage included: collapse/failure of exterior walls, significant damage to interior walls, roof failures, shifting of structures, and collapse of structures to to direct and indirect causes. Several vehicles were also tossed or rolled, with debris puncturing framing. Trees were also snapped and uprooted. The First Presbyterian Church was destroyed, but rescue/clean-up efforts precluded an accurate assessment of damage. The tornado continued northeastward, crossed the Coosa River, and then paralleled SR 170 as it continued to damage structures and snap and uproot trees. The tornado cycled as it moved northeast into the northern portions of the town of Eclectic, evident via a new RADAR TDS (Tornado Debris Signature) and fluctuating degree of damage. The tornado dissipated just before Lake Martin, near Holly Mill Road. All EF-2-level damage occurred from downtown Wetumpka to the eastern banks of the Coosa River. Start: 32.5202/-86.2370 End: 32.6824/-85.9927

NWS EF Scale: F2

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Elmore County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 135 mph. The tornado began near the Coosa River just southwest of downtown Wetumpka. It quickly intensified as it moved northeast into downtown Wetumpka. The extent of damage done to multiple structures in Wetumpka indicated a tornado with high-end EF2 wind speeds. The damage included: collapse/failure of exterior walls, significant damage to interior walls, roof failures, shifting of structures, and collapse of structures due to direct and indirect causes. Several vehicles were also tossed or rolled, with debris puncturing framing. Trees were also snapped and uprooted. The First Presbyterian Church was heavily damaged, but rescue/clean-up efforts precluded an accurate assessment of damage.||The tornado continued northeastward, crossed the Coosa River, and then paralleled State Route 170 as it continued to damage structures and snap and uproot trees. The tornado cycled as it moved northeast into the northern portions of the town of Eclectic, evident via a new radar TDS (tornado debris signature) and fluctuating degree of damage. The tornado dissipated just before Lake Martin, near Holly Mill Road.

A strong storm system developed over the southern Plains on Friday. A surface low deepened as it moved northeastward across the lower Mississippi Valley early Saturday. Increasing southerly surface winds ahead of the surface low ushered in lower 60s surface dew points into south-central Alabama. The storm system was accompanied by high shear values and strong forcing aloft. The combination of a high-shear and|low level instability was conducive for severe thunderstorm development.||Several rotating thunderstorms were present within a broken line of storms that moved through Central Alabama Saturday afternoon. A total of 4 tornadoes touched down and affected Dallas, Autauga, Elmore and Coosa Counties. In addition to these tornadoes, there were a few reports of damaging straight-line winds and numerous reports of trees down due to the strong winds both ahead and behind the strong cold front.

Part of 4-tornado outbreak on January 19, 2019