One year ago a weather system brought 15 tornadoes to Alabama, including one that killed seven people and another that tracked right through the heart of Selma.

Both tornadoes — and several others — were produced by one supercell storm, which traveled more than 82 miles through Alabama and is one of the longest-track tornadoes in state history.

In addition to the seven deaths on Jan. 12, 2023, around 20 people were injured, according to the National Weather Service.

The storms caused significant damage in many areas from north Alabama to south Alabama. However, central Alabama had the most tornadoes that day.

One of the hardest-hit areas was the city of Selma in Dallas County, which was in the bullseye for an EF-2 tornado with top winds of 130 mph. The National Weather Service in Birmingham will be in the city this Saturday, Jan. 13, to commemorate that day.

“It’s just an opportunity to reach out to the community and hopefully help heal from and remember the events of last year, but also look forward and be better prepared for the next time something like that happens,” said John De Block, the warning coordination meteorologist at the weather service.

“We want to serve the community and get down there and help understand what the challenges are that they have for severe weather and want to help educate them so that they’re better prepared for the next round of severe weather that’s coming,” De Bock added. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”

The anniversary event is scheduled for 10 a.m. until noon on Saturday at Arts Revive at 3 Church St. in Selma. The weather service said various agencies will be there, and ABC 33/40 Chief Meteorologist James Spann has also said he will attend.

One of the positive stories of that day came from the Crosspoint Daycare Center. The director of that daycare, Sharon Reid, was credited with saving the lives of the 72 children in her care when the tornado hit the building head-on.

“What’s most important is that they already had a severe weather plan in place,” De Block said.

“They were aware that a warning was issued and they activated their severe weather plan. And as they were waiting for the anticipated arrival of the tornado, she made the decision to move the kids to a better location, she put them in the bathrooms.”

That decision was a fateful one.

“Had she not made that move there would in all likelihood have been injuries,” De Block said. “The building was destroyed. But they had a plan and she knew the principles of what the safe locations were to be in and she made the decision to go to what she thought was a better location and she saved all their lives.”

THE TORNADOES OF JAN. 12, 2023

Tornadoes were in the forecast for Jan. 12, 2023, which is not uncommon for January in Alabama.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center had included much of central Alabama in a Level 3 out of 5 (enhanced) severe weather risk that day:

That enhanced risk verified. There were 15 confirmed tornadoes on Jan. 12, 2023, as well as damaging straight-line winds and hail up to the size of golf balls, according to the weather service, which collected damage reports and did storm surveys after that day.

The strongest tornado that day was an EF-3 that was blamed for killing seven people. It had top winds estimated at 150 mph.

The tornado traveled through Autauga, Elmore, Coosa, Tallapoosa and Chambers counties. However it became deadly in Autauga County’s Old Kingston community, where seven people lost their lives, five along Sandy Ridge Road and two along County Highway 140.

That tornado was spawned from the same storm that also produced the EF-2 tornado that tracked right through the city of Selma.

“It was one supercell thunderstorm … and that’s the reason we call them supercells, they have a sustained, long-lasting updraft,” De Block said. “ … it was just the right balance of wind shear and instability and it had the right speed, it didn’t outflank itself. It just kept feeding on the warm, moist air and had a good long-lasting updraft and those are the conditions that are ideal for tornado formation in a supercell thunderstorm.”

De Block said it was the longest-track tornado in Alabama history in the month of January. But that storm also ranks in the top 10 for longest-track tornadoes in any month:

But that wasn’t the only destructive storm on Jan. 12, 2023.

The first tornado on Jan. 12 touched down at 8:05 a.m. in Winston County. It was an EF-2 with top winds of 125 mph. The last tornado of the day lifted at 3:45 p.m., an EF-1 in southeast Alabama’s Henry County.

Here are the tornadoes on Jan. 12, 2023 and when they touched down:

* 8:05 a.m.: Winston County, EF-2

* 8:09 a.m.: Lawrence and Limestone counties, EF-1, one injury

* 9:24 a.m.: Sumter County, EF-2, one injury

* 9:54 a.m.: Greene, Hale, Tuscaloosa and Bibb counties, EF-2

* 10:47 a.m.: Hale and Perry counties, EF-2

* 11:30 a.m.: Perry and Bibb counties, EF-1

* 12:04 p.m.: Dallas County, EF-2 (Selma), two injuries

* 12:15 p.m.: Mobile County, EF-2,

* 12:40 p.m.: Autauga, Elmore, Coosa, Tallapoosa and Chambers counties: EF-3, seven fatalities, 20 injuries

* 1:54 p.m.: Conecuh County, EF-0

* 2:08 p.m.: Chambers County, EF-2

* 2:46 p.m.: Crenshaw County, EF-1

* 3:25 p.m.: Barbour County, EF-1

* 3:38 p.m.: Jackson County, EF-0

* 3:45 p.m.: Henry County, EF-1

Alabama had 29 confirmed tornadoes in January 2023, making it the most active severe weather month of the year.