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Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
842 PM CST Mon Mar 4 2019

...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 03/03/2019 TORNADO EVENT...

...THE START OF COMPLETED SURVEYS...


.OVERVIEW...
During the pre dawn and early morning hours Sunday, a low pressure 
system moved east northeast from southeast Texas and across Louisiana
and Mississippi. As the low moved into Alabama, it pulled a warm 
front northward into Central Alabama. This created a very sharp 
moisture and instability gradient between the northwest half and the 
southeast half of the area. Temperatures stayed in the 40s and 50s in
the northwest half of Central Alabama. South of the warm front, 
readings shot up into the 60s and 70s. There was a sharp contrast in 
dew points as well, with 40s and 50s in the northwest to middle to 
upper 60s in the southeast. Therefore, the air south of the warm 
front become very unstable. Additionally, winds in the lower levels 
of the atmosphere veered with height enough to produce a high shear 
environment. The environment was primed for severe thunderstorm 
development including tornadoes. Numerous supercell thunderstorms 
popped up by afternoon and lasted into the evening hours.

Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes did develop in association with 
this storm system. The severe weather affected Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

.TORNADO #1  County Road 79 Tornado (Barbour County)...

Rating:                 EF-2
Estimated Peak Wind:    115 mph
Path Length (Statute):  6.68 miles
Path Width (Maximum):   700 yards
Fatalities:             0
Injuries:               0

Start Date:             03/03/2019 
Start Time:             3:45 PM CST
Start Location:         3 SSW Batesville
Start Lat/Lon:          31.9653 / -85.3392 

End Date:               03/03/2019
End Time:               3:55 PM CST
End Location:           1 SW Lugo
End Lat/Lon:            31.9509 / -85.2283 

Survey Summary: 
A tornado touched down near Mary C Smith Road, just north and west of 
County Road 79. This location is between Batesville and Clayton. The 
initial damage was limited to trees being snapped and uprooted. The 
tornado moved eastward and crossed County Road 79 and Reverend Crawford
Road. Once again, there were numerous trees snapped and uprooted in 
these areas. The most significant damage occurred just east of 
Reverend Crawford Road, where all trees in a large area were completely
mowed down. Additionally, a large wooden double power pole was also 
knocked down. This area is still under evaluation. At this point, the 
tornado turned to the right, an east southeast direction, eventually 
lifting between Old Batesville Road and Lugo. Hundreds of additional 
trees were damaged at this point. The tornado damage path was 6.68 miles
long and was 700 yards wide at its widest point.


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. 

$$

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