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NOUS44 KBMX 122050
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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
250 PM CST MON JAN 12 2026
..NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 01/10/26 SEVERE WEATHER EVENT UPDATE #1
UPDATE
AN EF-0 TORNADO WAS CONFIRMED IN CLEBURNE COUNTY FROM
THE SEVERE WEATHER EVENT ON SATURDAY MORNING.
OVERVIEW
A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED ACROSS SOUTHERN
PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA DURING THE MORNING OF SATURDAY JANUARY 10,
2026. SPORADIC WIND DAMAGE OCCURRED AS A BOWING LINE SEGMENT MOVED
EASTWARD. A STORM SURVEY WAS PERFORMED IN ONE SLIGHTLY MORE
CONCENTRATED AREA OF DAMAGE IN AUTAUGA AND ELMORE COUNTIES. IN
ADDITION, A STORM ACROSS NORTHEASTERN CENTRAL ALABAMA PRODUCED AN
EF-0 TORNADO IN CLEBURNE COUNTY.
MARS HILL TORNADO (CLEBURNE COUNTY)
RATING: EF0
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 80 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 7.40 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 75 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: 01/10/2026
START TIME: 06:48 AM CST
START LOCATION: 3 S OAK LEVEL / CLEBURNE COUNTY / AL
START LAT/LON: 33.7984 / -85.4927
END DATE: 01/10/2026
END TIME: 06:59 AM CST
END LOCATION: 1 NNE MARS HILLS / CLEBURNE COUNTY / AL
END LAT/LON: 33.8563 / -85.3848
SURVEY SUMMARY:
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM SURVEYED DAMAGE IN
NORTHERN CLEBURNE COUNTY AND CONFIRMED AN EF-0 TORNADO WITH WINDS
UP TO 80 MPH. THE TORNADO BEGAN IN A HEAVILY FORESTED AREA
BETWEEN COUNTY ROAD (CR) 549 AND CR 205, WHERE SEVERAL PINE TREES
WERE UPROOTED OR LIMBS WERE SNAPPED. THE TRACK MOVED NORTHEAST
ACROSS A LARGE AREA OF INACCESSIBLE LAND AND EMERGED AT CR
296 AND CR 49, WHERE SEVERAL MORE SMALL PINE TREES WERE SNAPPED
OR UPROOTED. MORE TREE DAMAGE WAS NOTED AT THE INTERSECTION OF CR
40 AND CR 65, WITH VERY MINOR DAMAGE TO A COUPLE HOMES. THE
TORNADO THEN FOLLOWED ALONG CR 65, WITH ADDITIONAL TREE DAMAGE
ALONG BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD. TREE DAMAGE BECAME SLIGHTLY HEAVIER
AS THE TORNADO APPROACHED THE MARS HILL COMMUNITY. THE TORNADO
STRUCK FOUR CHICKEN HOUSES AND PEELED THE ROOFING OFF THE
SOUTHERN END OF THREE, SCATTERING DEBRIS TO THE EAST AND
NORTHEAST. A HOME SUSTAINED MINOR ROOF DAMAGE, AND A DETACHED
GARAGE WAS DAMAGED BY A FALLING TREE. JUST DOWNSTREAM, A SHED WAS
DESTROYED IN THE YARD OF ANOTHER RESIDENCE. A TORNADO DEBRIS
SIGNATURE THEN BECAME APPARENT ON RADAR. THE DAMAGE BECAME MORE
SPARSE AS THE PATH CONTINUED, WITH TREE DAMAGE, MOSTLY TO PINES,
CONTINUING ACROSS CR 123 AND CR 253. THE DAMAGE PATH APPEARED TO
END JUST PAST CR 253, BEFORE REACHING THE GEORGIA STATE LINE.
AUTAUGA/ELMORE COUNTIES THUNDERSTORM WIND
PEAK WIND: 60 MPH
DATE: 01/10/2026
START TIME: 8:55 AM CST
END TIME: 9:15 AM CST
SURVEY SUMMARY:
NWS METEOROLOGISTS PERFORMED A STORM SURVEY IN THE OLD KINGSTON AND
PINE LEVEL AREAS OF AUTAUGA COUNTY AND THE DEATSVILLE AND
HOLTVILLE AREAS OF ELMORE COUNTY. FINDINGS WERE CONSISTENT WITH
STRAIGHT-LINE WIND DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH AN AREA OF BROAD
ROTATION WITHIN A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. DAMAGE IN THE PINE
LEVEL AREA CONSISTED OF A FEW UPROOTED TREES OR BROKEN LIMBS
ALONG I-65, U.S. 31, CR 107, AND CR 40, WITH MINIMAL CONTINUITY
BETWEEN DAMAGE POINTS. ROOFING WAS BLOWN FROM A SMALL PRODUCE
STAND ON U.S. 31, JUST SOUTH OF THE CR 40 INTERSECTION. A FEW
LARGE CEDAR LIMBS FELL IN A CEMETERY, KNOCKING DOWN AT LEAST ONE
HEADSTONE. A SHED AND A TRAMPOLINE WERE DAMAGED ON CHANLEE DR,
ADJACENT TO CR 40. A FEW MORE DOWNED TREES WERE FOUND IN THE
DEATSVILLE AREA OF ELMORE COUNTY. MINIMAL DAMAGE WAS NOTED
DOWNSTREAM OF DEATSVILLE. IN HOLTVILLE, ROOFING WAS BLOWN OFF A
HOME AND A BACKYARD SHED WAS FLIPPED ON HIGHWAY 111. ON ONE
SECTION OF LAKE REGION CIR, A FEW TREES WERE UPROOTED AND FELL ON
POWER LINES. DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH WINDS AS HIGH AS 60 MPH.
EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE
FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
EF0.....65 TO 85 MPH
EF1.....86 TO 110 MPH
EF2.....111 TO 135 MPH
EF3.....136 TO 165 MPH
EF4.....166 TO 200 MPH
EF5.....>200 MPH
NOTE:
THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT AND PUBLICATION IN
NWS STORM DATA.
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