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March 17, 2021 · Cullman County · 2021
EF1

March 17, 2021

8:31 PM
Cullman County, Alabama · Near Cullman (ZIP 35058)
Fatalities
0
Injuries
0
Path Length
8.5 mi
Max Width
150 yd
DateMarch 17, 2021
Time8:31 PM
CountyCullman
CityCullman
Property Loss$0
Crop Loss$0
SourceNCEI 947542
NWS Birmingham

5 SW Fairview - 2 WNW Baileyton The tornado began north of County Road 1605, between CR 1609 and CR 1610. Initially, branches were broken, but the tornado began snapping tree trunks as it crossed CR 747 and CR 1630. The tornado continued northeast and crossed CR 1635, uprooting multiple trees, pulling some roofing material from a site-built home, and damaging or destroying several sheds. From there, the tornado tracked along Alabama Highway 69, causing minor roof damage to a shed, snapping and uprooting several trees, and severely damaging a detached garage. The tornado continued north of Fairview along Welcome Drive and CR 1568, snapping trees and causing roof damage to large farm outbuildings. Roof and tree damage was most significant on CR 1568 and 1569 northeast of Fairview: a large portion of roofing was removed from a house, numerous trees were snapped and uprooted, several large agricultural sheds were demolished, and several chicken houses had roofing and siding removed. At this point, the tornado reached its peak width of approximately 50 yards and peak intensity of 100 MPH. The final damage of note was observed along CR 1579 where a few more trees were snapped and the roof was peeled back from a large shed. Little additional damage was noted northeast of this location, so the end point is placed east of CR 1579 and south of CR 1570. Start: 34.1997/-86.7521 End: 34.2761/-86.6398

NWS EF Scale: F1

Event Narrative

A tornado began north of CR1605, between CR 1609 and CR 1610. Initially, branches were broken, but the tornado began snapping tree trunks as it crossed CR 747 and CR 1630. The tornado continued northeast and crossed CR 1635, uprooting multiple trees, pulling some roofing material from a site-built home, and damaging or destroying several sheds. From there, the tornado tracked along Alabama Highway 69, causing minor roof damage to a shed, snapping and uprooting several trees, and severely damaging a detached garage. The tornado continued north of Fairview along Welcome Drive and CR 1568, snapping trees and causing roof damage to large farm outbuildings. Roof and tree damage was most significant on CR 1568 and 1569 northeast of Fairview. A large portion of roofing was removed from a house, numerous trees were snapped and uprooted, several large agricultural sheds were demolished, and several chicken houses had roofing and siding removed. At this point, the tornado reached its peak width of approximately 50 yards and peak intensity of 100 mph. The final damage of note was observed along CR 1579 where a few more trees were snapped and the roof was peeled back from a large shed. Little additional damage was noted northeast of this location, so the end point is placed east of CR 1579 and south of CR 1570.

Episode Narrative

Multiple rounds of thunderstorms and showers produced rain amounts of 3 to 5 inches across north Alabama. The heaviest rains were in northwest Alabama around the Quad Cities/Shoals area, and south of the Tennessee River, mainly along and east of the I-65 corridor. This resulted in numerous reports of flash flooding, particularly in the Shoals of northwest Alabama and Cullman County. The flooding prompted the closure of many roads and schools affected by the flooding. The thunderstorms came in multiple waves, one during early morning, another around Midday, with two final waves during the evening hours. Although the majority of severe weather this day occurred south of north Alabama, one EF-1 tornado tracked across northeast Cullman County during the evening hours.

Outbreak Context

Part of 21-tornado outbreak on March 17, 2021

Shared Episode Narrative

Multiple rounds of thunderstorms and showers produced rain amounts of 3 to 5 inches across north Alabama. The heaviest rains were in northwest Alabama around the Quad Cities/Shoals area, and south of the Tennessee River, mainly along and east of the I-65 corridor. This resulted in numerous reports of flash flooding, particularly in the Shoals of northwest Alabama and Cullman County. The flooding prompted the closure of many roads and schools affected by the flooding. The thunderstorms came in multiple waves, one during early morning, another around Midday, with two final waves during the evening hours. Although the majority of severe weather this day occurred south of north Alabama, one EF-1 tornado tracked across northeast Cullman County during the evening hours.

Source Data
NCEI Event ID: 947542

See Also

8.5 mi150 yd wide