Lay Lake Tornado - March 14, 2019

Lay Lake EF-0 Tornado (Chilton & Coosa Counties)
March 14, 2019

Event Summary

Rating: (Click for EF Scale)	EF-0
Estimated Maximum Wind:	85 mph
Injuries/Fatalities:	None
Damage Path Length:	12.02 miles
Maximum Path Width:	350 yards
Approximate Start Point/Time:	1 NNW Gap of the Mountain 32.9276/-86.6157 at 739 pm
Approximate End Point/Time:	3 SSE Marble Valley 33.0022/-86.4328 at 806 pm

NWS Meteorologists surveyed damage in northeast Chilton County and northwest Coosa County and determined it was the result of a tornado.

The tornado began just east of Interstate 65 near Alabama Highway 145 where there was minor tree damage and roofing/wall damage to a site-built home. As the tornado continued eastward, the density of damage increased. Several pine trees were snapped and uprooted, along with sheet metal peeling of manufactured homes and barns/outbuildings near County Road 249. A mixture of tree damage and EF-0 caliber structural damage was observed all the way to the Lay Lake crossing along and adjacent to Coosa County Road 55. The tornado crossed the lake, with additional tree damage along Little Tom Road/Coosa County Road 125. Due to sub-par road conditions and gated roadways, the team was not able to follow any further damage into the heavily forested area. Based on an increasingly broad meso on RADAR and dissipating TDS, this path was terminated within the forested area east and northeast of Little Tom Road. However, this storm cycled and went on to produce 3 additional EF-0 tornadoes.

View larger map

Reflectivity (left) and velocity (right) of the tornado as it paralleled County Road 55. Images are from KBMX at 743 pm.

Structure Damage	Structure Damage