Showers and Storms continue across the East; Heat, Critical Fire Weather, Drought, and Poor Air Quality continues in the West

A series of fronts will focus locally heavy showers and storms across portions of the central and eastern U.S. through the end of the workweek. Dangerous to extreme heat continues across the Southwest U.S., eventually spreading eastward over the weekend into early next week. Elevated fire weather conditions continue across the Great Basin, with degraded air quality lingering across the Northwest. Read More >

On May 17th, heavy rainfall with some strong and isolated severe storms occurred as a Mesoscale Convective Complex pushed from Mississippi into Northern Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee. The area of showers and storms moved into northwestern Alabama around 10 AM and a few of the storms intensified as it tracked eastward through the early afternoon hours. The strongest storm of the day produced two tornadoes that briefly touched down, one in the Athens area and another near Elkmont.

Tornado Surveys Completed
(Click on an entry in the 1st column to see an official storm survey summary
and under the last column for more detailed tornado track location/data)

Detailed Summary
Link

EF Scale/Max Wind Speed (mph)

Injuries/
Fatalities

Path Length (Miles)

Path Width (Yards)

Starting Lat/.Long

Ending Lat/.Long

Track Images/Files

Athens

EF-0

75 MPH

0 / 0