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Severe WX 1/24/21-1/26/21 Severe Event (Fultondale, AL)

Equus

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I remember with the Jacksonville tornado it was the same way. I know they're eager to get a number on air but with tornadoes this intense it's clear they're going to have to update that shortly.
 

andyhb

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The EF2 prelim is 1 mph below EF3. That and them stressing very hard that it is a preliminary rating should make it very clear that they are quite likely to upgrade. I do hate how the very first preliminary rating for a tornado is reported by agencies like it is the final rating though. That has always bothered me.
This, so very much. It tends to leak into other media even after the final rating has been released.
 

JayF

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James Spann was rightfully upset at the media coverage of the Fultondale Tornado. At least @SouthernLiving pulled the article, but I think they need to do more by issuing an apology to the NWS, the Meteorologist and the community that was put in a negative light by this article.

 
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There was literally a guy who credited the NWS warning going out on his weather radio for saving some of his family from a bedroom where a piece of debris was hurled through the wall minutes later (I believe the tweet was posted earlier in this thread).

* Also a vivid reminder about the dangers of flying debris, as the room looked otherwise intact. Reminds me of a segment in an old Weather Channel tornado documentary where researchers (I seem to recall from Texas Tech) used an air cannon to blast 2x4s at walls made of different materials to see which ones resisted the best and worst.
 

JayF

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The author of the Southern Living article has posted an apology:


Now that is a heartfelt and true apology. He deserves Kudos for that.
 

bwalk

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There was literally a guy who credited the NWS warning going out on his weather radio for saving some of his family from a bedroom where a piece of debris was hurled through the wall minutes later (I believe the tweet was posted earlier in this thread).

* Also a vivid reminder about the dangers of flying debris, as the room looked otherwise intact. Reminds me of a segment in an old Weather Channel tornado documentary where researchers (I seem to recall from Texas Tech) used an air cannon to blast 2x4s at walls made of different materials to see which ones resisted the best and worst.
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Weatherphreak

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James Spann was rightfully upset at the media coverage of the Fultondale Tornado. At least @SouthernLiving pulled the article, but I think they need to do more by issuing an apology to the NWS, the Meteorologist and the community that was put in a negative light by this article.

Al Rocker said the same garbage on the Today show. Is he a legit meteorologist or just a TV weatherman? I feel like every system that comes through is the most dangerous weather situation we’ve had in years watching him. Super alarmist and completely out of touch with real meteorology.
 

WesL

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Pleased to announce that a series of billboards will go live this afternoon in the Fultondale area with our #FultondaleStrong hashtag with help from our partners at Blip. We hope residents share their stories and pictures to help tell the story of the deadly storm that hit that area. If you know anyone that was in the area, please encourage them to join us and share.

TW-Fultondale.png
 
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James Spann was rightfully upset at the media coverage of the Fultondale Tornado. At least @SouthernLiving pulled the article, but I think they need to do more by issuing an apology to the NWS, the Meteorologist and the community that was put in a negative light by this article.

Al Rocker said the same garbage on the Today show. Is he a legit meteorologist or just a TV weatherman? I feel like every system that comes through is the most dangerous weather situation we’ve had in years watching him. Super alarmist and completely out of touch with real meteorology.
Not a fan of his weather reporting style either, and I don't believe he is a degreed meteorologist. More of a weatherman/entertainer.


I work behind the scenes for the local NBC affiliate here, so I have to see Today every day.
 

Bama Ravens

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Pleased to announce that a series of billboards will go live this afternoon in the Fultondale area with our #FultondaleStrong hashtag with help from our partners at Blip. We hope residents share their stories and pictures to help tell the story of the deadly storm that hit that area. If you know anyone that was in the area, please encourage them to join us and share.

View attachment 5791
I drive through Fultondale on I-65 everyday, so I will be on the lookout for this to pop up on one of the electronic billboards.
 
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Jason Simpson posted this on Facebook. I find this pretty incredible. I always thought the "tornado corridors" were likely random bad luck and might go away with longer historical documentation, but it's hard to deny these strong tornadoes keep rolling across the same areas. The 1998 Oak Grove tornado track ended a little south of the 2011 track, and if it had continued would have tracked into North Birmingham, just south of Fultondale. The 1977 Smithfield tornado crossed I-65 at the south end of Fultondale, and the 1956 McDonough Chapel tornado crossed into essentially the same area as well.

JeffCo-Tor-1.jpg
 
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Jason Simpson posted this on Facebook. I find this pretty incredible. I always thought the "tornado corridors" were likely random bad luck and might go away with longer historical documentation, but it's hard to deny these strong tornadoes keep rolling across the same areas. The 1998 Oak Grove tornado track ended a little south of the 2011 track, and if it had continued would have tracked into North Birmingham, just south of Fultondale. The 1977 Smithfield tornado crossed I-65 at the south end of Fultondale, and the 1956 McDonough Chapel tornado crossed into essentially the same area as well.

View attachment 5796

Don't forget the April 28, 2014 night outbreak spawned EF2s that went through Graysville and Bessemer and an EF1 near North Johns.

I've definitely become more convinced over time that there's something to the idea that local topographical influences can create micro-"Alleys" where tornadogenesis is favored should a supercell (or rotating QLCS) in an otherwise favorable environment pass through.

Southern side of Tuscaloosa to western/northern sides of Birmingham definitely seems to be one, as does Pickens County to the Cordova/Oakman/Jasper/Sumiton area and the track through Limestone County that includes Tanner. Also the Ragland-Ohatchee-north of Piedmont track (Palm Sunday 1994 and 4/27/11). In Mississippi, the Kemper/Neshoba/Noxubee/Winston County cluster seems to get hit hard at a disproportionate rate, and of course there's the cluster of significant tornadoes that have affected the Moore-Norman-Newcastle area in Oklahoma since 1998, while largely avoiding the area along and north of the Oklahoma River (of course, that begs the question, what localized topographical feature could there be in the Plains to contribute to that?).
 
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