DEADLY TORNADOES POUND SOUTHERN STATES

December 18, 2000 — At least five tornadoes killed 12 people, injured 75 others and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses in Alabama on Saturday. NOAA's National Weather Service Forecast Office in Birmingham said most of the death and destruction resulted from an F-4 tornado, with estimated winds up to and over 207 mph, that ripped through southwestern Tuscaloosa County early Saturday afternoon.

An intensifying storm system moving into the area, combined with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and instability in the atmosphere, produced severe thunderstorms and a total of 21 reported tornadoes in a 10-hour period in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., predicted Saturday's storms as early as Friday morning. On Saturday morning, the SPC indicated a moderate risk for severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes in the area. At 10 a.m. CST, the SPC issued a tornado watch for eastern Mississippi and much of western and central Alabama.

The NWS Birmingham Forecast Office issued a tornado warning at 12:40 p.m. The tornado touched down in a rural area at 12:54 p.m. and moved in a northeasterly direction at 60 mph. It reached a populated area at 12:58 p.m. downing power lines, ripping up trees, destroying homes and businesses along the way.

On the ground for 18 miles and cutting a path 750 yards wide, it was responsible for 11 deaths, primarily in a trailer park. The twelfth fatality was the result of a tornado reported in Geneva (southeastern Alabama).

In its tornado watch statement, the Storm Prediction Center said, "this is a particularly dangerous situation," explaining that conditions in the atmosphere were favorable for supercell thunderstorms. Those storms did occur, originating in Mississippi and spawning the Tuscaloosa tornado. The same thunderstorm may have been responsible for additional damage in St. Clair and Etowah counties in Alabama.

In a news conference Sunday, Tuscaloosa County emergency managers praised the NWS for its timely warnings and touted the benefits of listening to NOAA Weather Radio, the voice of NOAA's National Weather Service. Meteorologists at the Birmingham office maintained telephone contact with emergency managers well before and during the event.

NWS Southern Region Director, Bill Proenza said: "Last year, the National Weather Service's national average warning time was 11.5 minutes for tornadoes. Clearly, the 14 minutes to touchdown and the 18 minutes between the Birmingham office warning and the time the tornado reached a population center gave emergency managers, the media and the public a critical advance warning."

"While this tornado will rank as one of the worst in Tuscaloosa and Alabama as a whole, the death toll certainly could have been worse without the early warning," he added.

Winter-time tornadoes are not common, but they do occur, according to Steve Corfidi, SPC lead forecaster. "With the right conditions, tornadoes can happen anywhere at any time."

Relevant Web Sites
Tornado Aftermath Photos

NOAA's Weather Page

All About Tornadoes

NOAA's Storm Prediction

NOAA Weather Radio

Media Contact:
Ron Trumbla, NOAA's National Weather Service Southern Region Headquarters, (817) 978-1111, ext. 140 or Keli Tarp, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, (405) 366-0451

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