Early Morning Lake Guntersville State Park EF2 April 27th, 2011 Tornado

Rating	EF-2	Peak Wind	120 mph
Path Length	20 miles	Peak Path Width	1/2 mile
Starting Time	06:30 AM	Ending Time	06:55 AM

Complete Tornado Track Map

Click on the image above to display an experimental contoured map created by Suheiley Lopez (UPRM) dipicting the strength of damage indicators seen along the track during NWS storm surveys.

The tornado initially touched down just west of Guntersville Lake, near Spindle Top Drive and Highway 69. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted in this location. The tornado then continued northeast across County Road (CR) 14 and across Cha-la-kee and Cotton Roads, where several homes had damage to shingles and numerous large trees were uprooted.

The tornado then moved northeast across Guntersville Lake and strengthened as it crossed Buck Island. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted across the Buck Island community. Several power poles were snapped near their bases and numerous homes sustained minor roof damage. Several piers and sheds were also destroyed. Damage was rated EF-1 through this area.

Next, the tornado crossed east over Guntersville Lake and struck Lake Guntersville State Park as an EF-2. Hundreds of trees were twisted, snapped and uprooted through the northern half of the State Park. Several RV campers were damaged in the camp grounds and minor roof damage was observed at the camp lodge.

The tornado continued northeast, just to the east of Highway 227, where hundreds of additional trees were snapped and uprooted along the west-facing valley wall. The tornado moved northeast as an EF-2, destroying a trailer and rolling another near Oliver Road, between Williams and Martin Drive. A barn and shed were also demolished.

The tornado then continued northeast crossing Highway 227 near Morgan Cove Road, twisting and uprooting several trees. The tornado finally weakened as it headed northeast into DeKalb County, with mainly large tree limbs snapped and twisted, and a few trees uprooted. The tornado appeared to dissipate between Grove Oak and Bucks Pocket State Park, near CR 19 and CR 544.

Note: Multiple vortices were noticed on radar with this storm complex and additional damage was seen to support these features around the main track of the tornado/circulation. Given this, it was difficult to discern a path width so the survey team looked at the most concentrated damage path to determine a path width.

Radar Data

Hytop, AL Radar (HTX) radar loop of the EF-2 tornado track from 6:30 - 6:55 am CDT. The imagery on the left is reflectivity, while the imagery on the right is storm-relative velocity. Click on the image to loop.

Hytop, AL Radar (HTX) radar loop of the EF-2 tornado track. The imagery on the left is reflectivity, while the imagery on the right is storm-relative velocity. Click on the image to loop.

Back to April 27 Survey Info