Tornadoes on January 23, 2012

Event Summary for Central Alabama

A strong cold front approached the region Sunday night and interacted with a very moist and unstable environment already in place. Numerous showers and thunderstorms developed along and out ahead of the front across Arkansas and Mississippi and pushed eastward across Central Alabama Sunday night and into Monday morning. There were several supercell thunderstorms that produced multiple tornadoes as they tracked across the forecast area. Numerous reports of straight-line wind damage and several reports of large hail and flash flooding were also received during the event.

The information below summarizes the tornadoes from this day, with each tornado path linked to its own webpage:

Location/Clickable Detailed Summary Link	Damage Rating/Estimated Maximum Wind Speeds	Injuries/Fatalities	Damage Path Length/Width	Starting Point/Time	Ending Point/Time
Panola (Sumter County)	EF-0 85 mph	None	0.36 miles 100 yards	32.9287/-88.2364 2:36 am	32.9316/-88.2312 2:37 am
Koffman (Tuscaloosa County)	EF-2 120 mph	None	0.45 miles 400 yards	33.3257/-87.6579 2:42 am	33.3305/-87.6526 2:43 am
Watermelon Rd (Tuscaloosa County)	EF-2 115 mph	None	0.56 miles 300 yards	33.3961/-87.4440 3:00 am	33.4038/-87.4395 3:01 am
Oak Grove (Tuscaloosa/Jefferson Counties)	EF-2 130 mph	1 Injury/ 1 Fatality	13.13 miles 880 yards	33.4316/-87.3071 3:09 am	33.5290/-87.1405 3:27 am
Parker (Sumter County)	EF-0 75 mph	None	1.1 miles 50 yards	32.6567/-88.1705 3:21 am	32.6718/-88.1639 3:24 am
Center Point (Jefferson/St. Clair Counties)	EF-3 150 mph	75 Injuries/ 1 Fatality	15.69 miles 800 yards	33.6228/-86.7411 3:58 am	33.7197/-86.4963 4:20 am
County Rd 7 (Perry County)	EF-1 110 mph	None	2.1 miles 300 yards	32.7068/-87.3096 4:33 am	32.7216/-87.2786 4:37 am
Maplesville (Perry/Chilton Counties)	EF-2 130 mph	None	39.77 miles 880 yards	32.7159/-87.2748 4:37 am	32.8764/-86.6322 5:30 am
DeSoto Caverns (Talladega County)	EF-0 80 mph	None	5.4 miles 50 yards	33.2957/-86.2951 5:35 am	33.3219/-86.2091 5:41 am
Enterprise (Chilton County)	EF-1 110 mph	None	3.63 miles 500 yards	32.7288/-86.6329 6:36 am	32.7657/-86.5886 6:40 am
North Millbrook (Elmore County)	EF-1 100 mph	None	4.02 miles 200 yards	32.5209/-86.4119 7:48 am	32.5309/-86.3437 7:55 am

The tornado damage "swaths" as depicted in the image above, and on the individual tornado links, are an estimate of the damage widths along the track. In other words, the track width may not represent the actual damage in all locations, as we interpolate the values between actual surveyed damage points. These maps are solely for the purpose of showing the general track of each tornado. Remember, tornadoes do not always move in straight lines, and the intensity does not remain constant. It is also possible to have other thunderstorm wind-related damage in close proximity to the tornado tracks from such features as inflow and rear flank downdrafts, which can produce tornado-like damage.

Pertinent Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Data from this Event

Severe Weather Episode Data

500 mb Analysis Jan 22 at 6 pm	500 mb Analysis Jan 23 at 6 am
Surface Analysis Jan 22 at 9 pm	Surface Analysis Jan 23 at 3 am
Day 2 Severe Weather Outlook Issued Jan 21 at 1130 am	Day 1 Severe Weather Outlook Issued Jan 22 at 1030 am
Storm Reports 01/22/12	Storm Reports 01/23/12
Shear Map	Upper Air Sounding Jan 22 at 6 pm
Reflectivity Loop	SRM Loop