BMX sending survey teams to Hale and Bibb/Shelby, we know the latter was a tornado but of course highly suspect the Moundville damage was tornadic as well. Feels like the storm reports map will look even more like a MDT day in a day or two.
Looks like BMX has determined the damage around Moundville was from straight line winds. They just released a PNS:
".Thunderstorm Wind #1: South Moundville Wind Event (Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties)...
Rating: N/A
Estimated Peak Wind: 76 mph
Path Length /statute/: 3.0 miles
Path Width /maximum/: 1200 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0
Start Date: 03/22/2022
Start Time: 06:38 PM
Start Location: 1.5 S Moundville / Hale County / AL
Start Lat/Lon: 32.98 / -87.63
End Date: 03/22/2022
End Time: 06:42 PM
End Location: 2 ENE Moundville / Tuscaloosa County / AL
End Lat/Lon: 33.01 / -87.59
Survey Summary:
National Weather Service survey crews assessed the damage just
south of Moundville, Alabama and determined the damage was most likely due to
straight line winds. In weighing the evidence, very little of the debris was
lofted into the air, and the damage path was consistently divergent which are
both indicative of straight line winds. There were also two eye witnesses that
emphatically stated that they observed a large swath of wind which caused the
damage as opposed to a tornado. The observed structures in the direct path lacked
debris splatter which would be associated with tornado damage. The surveyed
damage was nearly a mile or more south of the observed circulation on radar, and was
in line with the rear flank downdraft winds or inflow region of the storm. The
lack of lofted debris also confirmed the absence of a tornado debris signature despite
radar data sampling at 3400 feet AGL.
That said, there were approximately 50 trees uprooted along the surveyed path that
were consistently laying divergent with the exception of two convergent outliers.
Convergent damage would be indicative of a tornado. In addition, the path-to-width
ratio was more consistent with what would be considered tornado damage in most
circumstances.
In weighing all the evidence, the damage was more consistent with what is typically
observed from straight line winds despite the outlying evidence that would suggest
otherwise."
