4 NNW East Brookwood - 1 SE Bull City A tornado touched down in rural Tuscaloosa county. Numerous hardwood and softwood trees were snapped off and uprooted along the path. Damage began along Burchfield Road where the most intense damage was observed. The tornado moved through an inaccessible area east of Cane Creek and weakened by the time it reached Jefferson County, with a couple of downed trees along Ethridge Road. The tornado then dissipated prior to reaching Groundhog Road. The tornado damage path was 5.82 miles long and was 650 yards wide at its widest point. The maximum winds were estimated around 110 mph. Start: 33.3360/-87.3097 End: 33.3995/-87.2435

NWS EF Scale: F1

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Tuscaloosa County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph. A short-lived tornado touched down near Lake Wildwood, east of Cottondale. However, it still managed to produce timber and minor structural damage that was consistent with EF1 strength. The tornado dissipated near Lawton Road.

An active southern jet stream set-up across the southern United States during the middle of March. Several short-wave troughs became negatively tilted as each one traversed across Texas and towards Alabama. This resulted in a single hail event one Monday, March 15, and significant tornado outbreak on Wednesday, March 17. Many supercells began to develop across Central Alabama by midday Wednesday and continued into the evening hours before a squall line moved through the state. Sufficient instability and strong wind shear produced conditions favorable for tornadoes to develop. The event consisted of twenty-one tornadoes in the NWS Birmingham forecast area.

Part of 21-tornado outbreak on March 17, 2021