Whitsitt Tornado - April 19, 2009

Whitsitt Tornado - Hale County
April 19, 2009

Rating: (Click for EF Scale)	EF-0
Estimated Maximum Wind:	60-70 mph
Injuries/Fatalities:	None
Damage Path Length:	3.55 miles
Maximum Path Width:	25 yards
Approximate Start Point/Time:	32.6261/-87.5949 at 552 pm
Approximate End Point/Time:	32.6447/-87.5377 at 600 pm

A National Weather Service Damage Assessment Team has surveyed the storm damage in Hale County. It has been determined the damage was the result of a tornado. The tornado has been rated an EF-0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Damage estimates were consistent with winds around 60-70 mph.

A tornado touched down just to the west of AL-25 about 1 1/2 miles north of the the town of Whitsitt. The tornado traveled east-northeast over County Road 47 and lifted just to the east of AL-61, south of the County Road 24 intersection, for a total path length of 3.55 miles. Damage along the path included approximately 50 trees snapped or uprooted and a metal roof was peeled off of an outbuilding. At its widest point, the tornado path was 25 yards wide.

Radar

The top image is a KMXX 0.5 degree reflectivity loop. The bottom image is a KMXX 0.5 degree storm relative velocity loop. The green indicates wind blowing toward the radar while red indicates wind blowing away from the radar. This storm exhibited gate-to-gate rotation and a pronounced hook echo at times.