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March 31, 2020 · Pike County · 2020
EF0

March 31, 2020

9:34 AM
Pike County, Alabama · Near Troy (ZIP 36081)
Fatalities
0
Injuries
0
Path Length
1.6 mi
Max Width
80 yd
DateMarch 31, 2020
Time9:34 AM
CountyPike
CityTroy
Property Loss$0
Crop Loss$0
SourceNCEI 882674
NWS Birmingham

1 S - 1 ESE Sandfield NWS meteorologists assessed damage near Sandfield and determined it was the result of an EF-0 tornado. The tornado formed in a wooded rural area south of Highway 223 and the Sandfield community. Several trees were downed as it crossed an unnamed dirt road and County Road 6615. The tornado appeared to dissipate prior to reaching the Bullock County line. A brief tornado debris signature was also observed via KMXX radar. Start: 31.9011/-85.8111 End: 31.9025/-85.7972

NWS EF Scale: F0

Event Narrative

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northeast Pike County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 75 mph. The tornado formed in a wooded rural area south of Highway 223 and the Sandfield community. Several trees were uprooted as it crossed a dirt road and County Road 6615. The tornado appeared to dissipate prior to reaching the Bullock County line. A brief tornado debris signature was also observed on the KMXX radar.

Episode Narrative

A strong upper level disturbance caused a wave of low pressure to form along a quasi-stationary front and move eastward along the Highway 80 and Interstate 85 corridors. This allowed a warm front to lift northward across the southeast portions of Central Alabama. North of the warm front, a line of showers with sporadic lightning strikes along an inverted trough was able to produce damaging winds despite a cool and stable air mass at the surface, knocking down numerous trees from Tuscaloosa County to Randolph County during the first part of the morning. A QLCS ahead of the cold front moved eastward later in the morning from Lowndes County to Barbour County, producing sporadic damaging winds. Additionally, bookend vortices and embedded supercell structures several weak tornadoes and one strong tornado.

Outbreak Context

Part of 5-tornado outbreak on March 31, 2020

Shared Episode Narrative

A strong upper level disturbance caused a wave of low pressure to form along a quasi-stationary front and move eastward along the Highway 80 and Interstate 85 corridors. This allowed a warm front to lift northward across the southeast portions of Central Alabama. North of the warm front, a line of showers with sporadic lightning strikes along an inverted trough was able to produce damaging winds despite a cool and stable air mass at the surface, knocking down numerous trees from Tuscaloosa County to Randolph County during the first part of the morning. A QLCS ahead of the cold front moved eastward later in the morning from Lowndes County to Barbour County, producing sporadic damaging winds. Additionally, bookend vortices and embedded supercell structures several weak tornadoes and one strong tornado.

Source Data
NCEI Event ID: 882674

See Also

1.6 mi80 yd wide