How many tornadoes hit Alabama on Thursday?
The National Weather Service will continue to assess the damage across Alabama following Thursday’s severe weather.
So far one tornado has been confirmed, an EF-1 with top winds of 104 mph that carved a 30-mile track through northwest Alabama.
The number of tornadoes will almost certainly climb today, with damage assessments scheduled for multiple hard-hit central Alabama communities and damage spread across much of the state.
The weather service in Birmingham said it is sending out multiple survey teams across central Alabama today.
Areas that will be surveyed include Selma in Dallas County as well as Autauga County, where at least six people were killed on Thursday.
The weather service also plans to look at damage in Sumter, Greene, Hale and Winston counties. Those areas were all under tornado warnings at some point on Thursday.
Other areas that have reported storm damage are in Tuscaloosa, Perry, Bibb, Elmore, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Chambers and Barbour counties.
Storm damage has also been reported in southwest and southeast Alabama.
The weather service said that the damage was so wide-ranging that it may take several days for all the surveys to be completed.
The weather service said updates will be issued on the survey teams’ progress throughout the next few days.
The weather service in Huntsville completed one survey on Thursday, confirming an EF-1 tornado that crossed through parts of Lawrence, Morgan and Limestone counties.
Here’s a look at that tornado:
* Highway 24 tornado (Lawrence, Morgan and Limestone counties): EF-1, top winds 104 mph. Path length 30.4 miles; path width 325 yards. One injury. The tornado touched down at 8:09 a.m. Thursday in Lawrence County just west of County Road 101. The tornado damaged trees, several homes and mostly destroyed a metal workshop after crossing County Road 117. The tornado moved into the Moulton area, causing some damage in the downtown area, including the high school baseball fields and Lawrence Medical Center. The tornado crossed Highway 24 and damaged a motel near Highway 24 and County Road 157. It moved into Morgan County and likely lifted and dropped several times in the Trinity area. It blew a semi-truck off the road, tipping it over, and flipped several campers at Jay’s Landing. An injury was reported at a nearby recycling facility. The tornado also caused some damage at Ingalls Harbor and near Highway 20. The storm crossed the Tennessee River and caused some damage at Calhoun Community College. It continued northeast before lifting near Fennel Road and Fennel Lane.
The weather service said anyone with damage from Thursday’s storms is encouraged to contact their local National Weather Service office and provide a storm report.
North Alabama: National Weather Service in Huntsville
Central Alabama: National Weather Service in Birmingham
Southwest Alabama: National Weather Service in Mobile
Southeast Alabama: National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Fla.