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March 25, 2021 · Tallapoosa, Clay, Randolph County · 2021
EF2

March 25, 2021

8:55 PM
Tallapoosa, Clay, Randolph County, Alabama · Near Alexander City (ZIP 35010)
Fatalities
0
Injuries
0
Path Length
31.3 mi
Max Width
1,000 yd
DateMarch 25, 2021
Time8:55 PM
CountyTallapoosaClayRandolph
CityAlexander City
Property Loss$0
Crop Loss$0
SourceNCEI 965724
NWS Birmingham

3 WSW Motley - 1 W Waresville The tornado first touched down along Hodge Creek Road producing extensive timber damage including snapping and uprooting of large swaths of trees. Some minor structural damage was also noted in this area. The tornado moved northeast producing extensive tree damage in the Sikesville community. Numerous homes here also received minor to moderate roof damage. One home sustained major damage with all but one wall collapsed. The tornado nearly paralleled County Line Road as it moved into Randolph County. All along CR 836, swaths of hardwood trees were either uprooted or snapped. The tornado widened once again as it approached CR 77. Here the tornado carved a wide path over mainly forested areas with some damage to barns and agricultural buildings. A chicken house on CR 845 was completely destroyed. Substantial damage was noted in the Corinth community in southwest Randolph county. Along CR 43, a row of conventional homes had minor to moderate damage. Many homes in this area sustained complete loss of roof structure and blown out windows. The Corinth Fire Department was also damaged in this area. The tornado continued to move northeast, snapping trees and powerlines along CR 33 and CR 26. Homes in this area also received damage, mostly to roof structures. Homes were damaged along CR 65 just west of US Highway 431. Once the tornado crossed Highway 431, it produced extensive damage to homes and structures along CR 61 and CR 700. Several homes here had their roofs removed and trees were snapped near the base. Further east near CR 59, a 100 year old log cabin was mostly destroyed with only a couple of walls left standing. Tree damage in this area was also extensive. Additional trees and power lines continued to be snapped along CR 16 and CR 87. A large farm building was destroyed near CR 701 and several chicken houses were also destroyed in this area. The tornado weakened notably east of CR 87 before lifting near CR 296 just west of the state line. Start: 33.1102/-85.7074 End: 33.2296/-85.2634

NWS EF Scale: F2

Event Narrative

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in rural northern Tallapoosa County and determined it was consistent with an EF1 tornado with maximum winds near 95 mph. The tornado first touched down in a remote area just east of Goldville, starting out very narrow but producing significant areas of uprooted trees and a distinct debris signature as it passed over harvested and unharvested forests. The tornado crossed Simpson Road before passing into Clay County.

Episode Narrative

A potent storm system affected Central Alabama on Thursday, March 25th. A highly-sheared environment combined with increasing instability produced numerous tornadic thunderstorms. Severe parameters were supportive of significant and long-track supercells, prompting the issuance of a rare High Risk Convective Outlook from the Storm Prediction Center for portions of Central Alabama.||A total of 10 tornado tracks were surveyed in Central Alabama. This included 4 EF3 tornadoes, 3 EF2 tornadoes, and 3 EF1 tornadoes. Damage was significant along the paths of the most intense tornadoes and, unfortunately, injuries and fatalities occurred. |Some storms were cyclic, meaning multiple tornadoes were produced by the same storm. The most impressive tornado of the event was the long-track tornado that traveled nearly 80 miles from Hale County to Shelby County. This ranked as the seventh longest single tornado track in the state of Alabama.

Outbreak Context

Part of 9-tornado outbreak on March 25, 2021

Shared Episode Narrative

A potent storm system affected Central Alabama on Thursday, March 25th. A highly-sheared environment combined with increasing instability produced numerous tornadic thunderstorms. Severe parameters were supportive of significant and long-track supercells, prompting the issuance of a rare High Risk Convective Outlook from the Storm Prediction Center for portions of Central Alabama.||A total of 10 tornado tracks were surveyed in Central Alabama. This included 4 EF3 tornadoes, 3 EF2 tornadoes, and 3 EF1 tornadoes. Damage was significant along the paths of the most intense tornadoes and, unfortunately, injuries and fatalities occurred. |Some storms were cyclic, meaning multiple tornadoes were produced by the same storm. The most impressive tornado of the event was the long-track tornado that traveled nearly 80 miles from Hale County to Shelby County. This ranked as the seventh longest single tornado track in the state of Alabama.

Source Data
NCEI Event ID: 965724

See Also

31.3 mi1000 yd wide