Christmas Day Tornadoes of 2012

Christmas Day Tornadoes of 2012

Event Summary for Central Alabama

As part of a two day event, with severe weather stretching from Texas to North Carolina and heavy snowfall across the center of the country, Central Alabama experienced a wide range of severe weather on Christmas Day. Late Christmas Eve, a well amplified upper level trough dug into the southern plains. In response, a surface low developed Christmas morning over southern Texas. As the upper low deepened it tilted negatively and helped to deepen the surface low as it moved eastward. By Christmas afternoon, a swath of severe weather swept across the deep south, with discrete supercells and a broken line of thunderstorms in trail. These thunderstorms moved across east Texas, Louisiana, and south Mississippi during the afternoon hours, and then into south and central Alabama during the evening hours, bringing with them strong straight line winds, numerous tornadoes, as well as flooding. The tornado accounts below are specifically for the counties of Central Alabama.

The information below is the PRELIMINARY (subject to change) summaries of tornadoes from this day.

Location/Clickable Detailed Summary Link	Damage Rating/Estimated Maximum Wind Speeds	Injuries/Fatalities	Damage Path Length/Width	Starting Point/Time	Ending Point/Time
Vangale (Marengo County)	EF-1 90 mph	None	4.7 miles 100 yards	32.0238/-87.8687 315 pm	32.0873/-87.8415 321 pm
Tennille (Pike County)	EF-1 110 mph	None	3.7 miles 300 yards	31.6180/-85.7709 530 pm	31.6664/-85.7473 536 pm
Demopolis (Marengo County)	EF-1 100 mph	None	5.9 miles 500 yards	32.4762/-87.8228 550 pm	32.5140/-87.7324 559 pm
Farmersville (Lowndes County)	EF-1 105 mph	None	2 miles 300 yards	32.0513/-86.8505 809 pm	32.0661/-86.8205 809 pm
Mosses (Lowndes County)	EF-0 75 mph	None	0.6 miles 75 yards	32.1521/-86.6818 826 pm	32.1574/-86.6733 826 pm
Bodock Farms (Lowndes County)	EF-2 120 mph	None	9.55 miles 900 yards	32.2043/-86.6041 832 pm	32.3133/-86.5115 846 pm
Conecuh River (Pike County)	EF-2 120 mph	2 Injuries	15.7 miles 600 yards	31.7252/-86.1472 1024 pm	31.8844/-85.9565 1040 pm
Waugh (Montgomery County)	EF-1 90 mph	None	0.7 miles 100 yards	32.3527/-86.0452 1029 pm	32.3628/-86.0422 1029 pm

The tornado damage swaths as depicted in the image above, and on the individual tornado links, are an estimate of the damage widths along the track. In other words, the track width may not represent the actual damage in all locations, as we interpolate the values between actual surveyed damage points. These maps are soley for the purpose of showing the general track of each tornado. Remember, tornadoes do not always move in straight lines, and the intensity does not remain constant. It is also possible to have other thunderstorm wind-related damage in close proximity to the tornado tracks from such features as inflow and rear flank downdrafts, which can produce tornado-like damage.

Pertinent Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Data from this Event

Other affected County Warning Areas

NWS Mobile, AL	NWS Jackson, MS

Severe Weather Episode Data

500 mb Analysis Dec 25 at 6 am	500 mb Analysis Dec 25 at 6 pm
Surface Analysis Dec 25 at 6 am	Surface Analysis Dec 25 at 6 pm
Day 2 Severe Weather Outlook Issued Dec 24 at 1130 am	Day 1 Severe Weather Outlook Issued Dec 25 at 7 am
Storm Reports 12/25/12	BMX Upper Air Sounding Dec 25 at 6 pm

Rainfall Totals for Christmas Day