April 19, 2009 Storm Survey

Storm surveys have been conducted examining storm damage that occurred on Sunday, April 19th.   All tornado ratings use the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

During the late afternoon and early evening hours of April 19th, 2009, severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front and moved across northern Alabama, south of the Tennessee River. These thunderstorms produced a swath of severe weather, including tornadoes, hail, and winds, as they moved eastward across the area from Franklin County through De Kalb County.

Lawrence and Morgan Counties (Mount Hope, Moulton, Punkin Center/Neel, Priceville)

A tornadic supercell tracked across central Lawrence and west central Morgan Counties in northern Alabama between the hours of 6:00 and 7:00 PM CDT, Sunday, April 19th, 2009. Based on damage that was surveyed, much of the damage resulted from straight-line winds. However, there were four areas between Mount Hope (in Lawrence County) and Priceville (in Morgan County) that supported brief tornado touchdowns. 

Marshall County - Asbury Community

A tornado touched down just south of Gin Road in the Asbury community. A mobile home was completely destroyed with the contents blown 40 yards and the frame blown 60 yards. One occupant suffered fatal injuries with another suffering life threatening injuries. The tornado tracked northeast destroying one large chicken house and damaging several others. Many chickens were killed and two cows were killed by flying debris. Several barns and outbuildings sustained substantial damage. The tornado weakened as it continued to move northeast toward Asbury Rd with minor tree damage before it finall lifted near Old Bethel Rd. 

This chicken house was partially destroyed along Gin Road in Asbury.

This barn in the Asbury community sustained substantial damage.

DeKalb County - Guest Community

A tornado touched down briefly in the Guest community along County Road 50. Several trees were uprooted and a small barn was destroyed on the north side of the road. The tornado continued to move to the northeast along County Road 44 with sporadic tree damage before lifting. 

DeKalb County - Hammondville

Another tornado touched down along County Road 121 in Hammondville. Large trees were uprooted and a few small trees were snapped. Minor roof and structural damage was noted to a few buildings. The tornado tracked northeast with additional tree damage along Route 885. An interesting note is that a tree fell on a home along Route 885 that was also impacted by a tornado on March 28th of this year. The survey team found that the tornado lifted and touched back down periodically across northeast DeKalb County with sporadic patches of tree damage before finally lifting near the intersection of Hwy 117 and Lowery Rd. 

 Radar Data

This National Weather Service radar image from 6:02pm shows a rotating supercell thunderstorm moving into the Mount Hope tornado. This radar image shows the storm just before the tornado touched down. The base reflectivity product in the left panel, which shows rainfall intensity, shows a classic supercell thunderstorm. The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at Columbus Air Force Base, MS.

This National Weather Service radar image from 6:23pm shows an area of strong rotation just southeast of Moulton. The base reflectivity product in the left panel shows rainfall intensity. The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at Hytop.

This National Weather Service radar image from 6:42pm shows rotation north and west of Neel around Punkin Center. The base reflectivity product in the left panel, which shows rainfall intensity, shows a Bounded Weak Echo Region (BWER), or an area of lower reflectivity values entirely surrounded by high reflectivity values. This is indicative of rotation and the presence of a mesocyclone in the storm. The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at Hytop.

This National Weather Service radar image from 7:01pm shows rotation south of Priceville over I-65. The base reflectivity product in the left panel shows rainfall intensity. The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at Hytop.

This National Weather Service radar image from 8:40pm shows a broad area of circulation along the Marshall/DeKalb County border. There were also smaller scale circulations embedded in this larger-scale circulation. The base reflectivity product in the left panel shows rainfall intensity. The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at Hytop.

This National Weather Service radar image from 9:03pm shows an area of rotation east of Fyffe near the Guest community. The base reflectivity product in the left panel shows rainfall intensity. The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at Hytop.

This National Weather Service radar image from 9:17pm shows a velocity couplet west of Hammondville near the eastern extent of Sand Mountain. The base reflectivity product in the left panel shows rainfall intensity. The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at Hytop.