July, 14th, 2015: Tuscumbia/Sheffield EF1 Tornado

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
721 PM CDT WED JUL 15 2015

...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 07/14/2015 TORNADO EVENT - UPDATE #1

.TUSCUMBIA/SHEFFIELD TORNADO...

RATING:                 EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    95 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  9.11 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   150 YARDS
FATALITIES:             0
INJURIES:               0

START DATE:             JULY 14 2015
START TIME:             600 PM CDT
START LOCATION:         ALABAMA AVENUE/RIVERFRONT PARK
START LAT/LON:          34.7687/-87.7084

END DATE:               JULY 14 2015
END TIME:               613 PM CDT
END LOCATION:           SPRING VALLEY RD JUST WEST OF LAGRANGE RD
END LAT/LON:            34.6575/-87.6218

*SURVEY_SUMMARY: A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ALONG THE SOUTH RIVERBANK
OF THE TENNESSEE RIVER IN SHEFFIELD. THE TORNADO INITIALLY PRODUCED
SUBSTANTIAL TREE DAMAGE ALONG ALABAMA AVENUE ALONG WITH MINOR ROOF
AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO SEVERAL HOMES. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED
SOUTHEAST UPROOTING OR SNAPPING NUMEROUS HARDWOOD TREES IN THE
RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS OF SHEFFIELD. HERE MANY HOMES WERE
DAMAGED BY FALLING TREES OR FLYING DEBRIS. SEVERAL HOMEOWNERS
SAID THEY WITNESSED SEEING A FUNNEL CLOUD APPROACHING FROM THE
NORTH. THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WAS NOTED ALONG LITTLE ROCK
AVENUE WHERE POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED OR PUSHED OVER. MANY
RESIDENTS WERE WITHOUT POWER DUE TO THE STORM.

THE TORNADO NARROWED SOMEWHAT AS IT MOVED SOUTHEAST TOWARD TUSCUMBIA.
DAMAGE WAS NOTED TO TREES JUST EAST OF THE HELEN KELLER HOSPITAL
COMPLEX. POWER LINES WERE BROKEN AND TRANSMISSION LINES WERE BENT
OVER ALONG ELM STREET. A LARGE LIGHT TOWER WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED
AT DESHLER HIGH SCHOOL. THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO PRODUCE SPORADIC
DAMAGE AS IT APPROACHED HIGHWAY 43 ROLLING OVER AN UNANCHORED
BUILDING AND PRODUCING MINOR ROOF DAMAGE AT A CAR DEALERSHIP.
THE TORNADO CROSSED HIGHWAY 72 ALTERNATE WITH MAINLY TREE DAMAGE
NOTED BEFORE IT APPARENTLY LIFTED ALONG SPRING VALLEY ROAD.
NOTE...THIS TORNADO AND "LAGRANGE TORNADO" MAY WELL BE ONE
CONTINUOUS TRACK BUT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL GIVEN THE LACK
OF SURFACE ROADS TO SURVEY THE ROUGHLY 6 MILES IN BETWEEN.

*SURVEYED BY: DARDEN AND COLBERT EMA

EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE
FOLLOWING CATEGORIES.

EF0...WEAK......65 TO 85 MPH
EF1...WEAK......86 TO 110 MPH
EF2...STRONG....111 TO 135 MPH
EF3...STRONG....136 TO 165 MPH
EF4...VIOLENT...166 TO 200 MPH
EF5...VIOLENT...>200 MPH

NOTE:
THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENTS AND PUBLICATION IN
NWS STORM DATA.