April 24, 2010 Storm Survey

The same supercell which produced the Blount/Marshall/Dekalb tornado about 30 minutes earlier developed a second tornado around 11:25 PM CDT.  This tornado touched down 4 miles south southwest of Mentone, near Desoto Sate park.  Significant damage was seen along it's path to the Alabama/Georgia state line.  The hardest hit areas were between CR 117 and CR 106, just to the south southeast of Mentone. The most significant damage occurred to a trailer park (Morning Glory Court) where several single wide manufactured homes were completely destroyed. Numerous large trees were also snapped or uprooted.  The tornado continued moving northeast and crossed into Chattooga county (Northwest Georgia) around 11:34 PM CDT.  Additional damage occurred as it traveled another 8 miles into northern Chattooga county.  

The map below details the tornado path and timing along certain sections with the storm as it moved across northern Alabama and into extreme western Georgia. The same storm produced a tornado of EF-3 intensity to the southeast in Blount, Marshall, and DeKalb Counties (noted by the large segment stretching from west of Douglas through Albertville and into the Fort Payne area). Click on the map for a larger version.

Radar Data
This National Weather Service radar loop between 11:15pm and 11:34pm shows a rotating supercell thunderstorm moving across northern DeKalb County. The circulation couplet (noted best by the velocity imagery on the left) began between the towns of Fort Payne and Valley Head.  The storm relative velocity product in the left panel shows winds toward (green) and away (red) from the radar at Hytop, AL. Click on the image below to observe the loop.

Damage Pictures