March 1st, 2007 Tornado Outbreak

March 1st Tornado Outbreak
9 Confirmed Tornadoes in Central Alabama

A warm front moved northward from the Gulf Coast during the early morning hours on March 1, 2007. Southerly winds behind the front spread a warm, moist and unstable atmosphere across all of central Alabama. A few thunderstorms developed along the warm front and these storms produced small hail and funnel clouds in western Alabama.

Temperatures warmed up into the 65 to 75 degree range by around noon on March 1st. The atmosphere was primed for a significant outbreak of severe thunderstorms. Supercell thunderstorms developed around midday and moved west to east across central Alabama. These severe thunderstorms produced at least 9 tornadoes (5 EF-1's, 3 EF-2's and 1 EF-3) in the Birmingham County Warning Area. Many locations also experienced large hail, with baseball size hail being reported in Tuscaloosa County. A few locations received excessive rainfall up to 3 inches in a short period of time. This produced localized flash flooding.

The outbreak came to an end as a cold front pushed through the region during the evening hours. Severe weather was reported from around noon through 9 PM. Click here to view the Preliminary Local Storm Reports for central Alabama. This event covered several states and additional information can found found at the following locations;
National Weather Service Offices...Jackson, Mississippi...Mobile, Alabama...Tallahassee, Florida...Atlanta, Georgia

National Weather Service meteorologists utilized the new Enhanced Fujita Scale while assessing the storm damage.

The National Weather Service in Birmingham would like to thank the following groups for their support during storm assessments; the Alabama State Emergency Management Agency, the Alabama State Troopers, the Tuscaloosa Police Department, the Tuscaloosa Sheriffs Department, Winston County Emergency Management Agency, the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency, the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency, the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department, Alabama Power, the Dallas County Emergency Management Agency, the Lowndes County Emergency Management Agency, the Civil Air Patrol, the Russell County Emergency Management Agency, and the staff at the Lakepoint Resort State Park.

Click on the EF-Scale for the Tornado Assessment
See a Central Alabama Overview Map Here