The video update for Sunday, January 9, is now posted to the web page. Looks like our weather pattern will stay warm for a few more days but the whole pattern becomes progressive as the long wave trough migrates east and sets up over the eastern US. So winter will make it's return to Alabama late this coming week. We will all get some rain on Thursday - at least that appears to be the timing right now.
In case you did not catch it, I've pasted to this posting the statement released by the Birmingham NWS office on the storm survey of damage in Hale County. Not only were we in Tornado Watch Number 1 as JB noted below but we've also ended up with our first tornado of the year. Bad omen? I don't think I'd go that far, but this event is one of the earliest tornadoes since January, 1997. There were 30 tornadoes in the state that year.
Before that, early tornadoes (first week of January) occurred in 1985 and 1982 and there were 42 and 22 tornadoes in those years, respectively.
Interesting food for thought.
...FIRST TORNADO OF 2005 IN ALABAMA...
...STORM SURVEY OF HALE COUNTY F0 TORNADO ON FRIDAY...JANUARY 7TH...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONDUCTED A STORM SURVEY TODAY CONCERNING DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THE F0 TORNADO THAT OCCURRED IN HALE COUNTY AROUND 1112 PM CST FRIDAY...JANUARY 7TH.
THE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN JUST 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GREENSBORO AND MOVED NORTHEAST. THE PATH LENGTH WAS 3/4 OF A MILE AND THE MAXIMUM WIDTH WAS 75 YARDS.
THREE STORAGE STRUCTURES RECEIVED MAJOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE...ALONG WITH MINOR DAMAGE TO THE ROOF OF A HOME. TWO WOOD PILLARS THAT SUPPORTED THE FRONT PORCH OF THIS HOME WERE BLOWN OUT. METAL PIECES OF STORAGE STRUCTURES WERE SPREAD OUT ACROSS A WIDE AREA...BLOWN INTO TREES...AND BLOWN INTO NEARBY FENCING. NUMEROUS TREES WERE DOWNED...WITH SEVERAL OTHER TREES SNAPPED OFF.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING WAS IN EFFECT FROM 1105 PM TO 1130 PM ON FRIDAY...JANUARY 7TH FOR HALE COUNTY. A TORNADO WATCH WAS ALSO IN EFFECT FROM 845 PM FRIDAY...JANUARY 7TH TO 200 AM ON SATURDAY...JANUARY 8TH FOR 27 COUNTIES IN ALABAMA INCLUDING HALE COUNTY.
-Brian-
on January 9, 2005, 10:41 am
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