Touchdown and track into Lakeview/Fyffe At around 5:45 p.m. CDT on the evening of April 27, the supercell thunderstorm began to re-intensify in northeastern Alabama. Initially, a
severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the region, before a
tornado warning was issued for the
Lakeview community and surrounding areas at 6:10 p.m. CDT. At approximately 6:19 p.m. CDT (23:19 UTC), the tornado touched down in Lakeview, northeast of
Geraldine. The tornado began with relatively modest structural damage to smaller buildings trees in the Lakeview area. The tornado ran parallel to
SR 75, moving toward
Fyffe. As it approached Fyffe, the tornado displayed multiple vortices, wavering between thin horizontal sub-vortices and a solidified
wedge appearance. Swaths of trees around Beulah Baptist Cemetery, east of Lakeview, were snapped, and significant destruction of homes and trees was observed in Fyffe. Generally at EF3 intensity up to this point, the tornado moved toward
Shiloh and intensified. Along Heaton Road, the tornado grew much wider, reaching EF5 intensity for the first time shortly thereafter. A metal farm building was completely destroyed, along with numerous homes, with some lower-bound homes being wiped off their foundations. The tornado maintained EF5 intensity, producing significant ground scouring, as it exited Shiloh.
Peak intensity near Rainsville Just southeast of
Rainsville, the tornado grew to wide and reached EF5 intensity for the first time. Numerous homes, businesses, and public facilities were decimated, with little to no debris left behind. Vehicles were lofted hundreds of yards and mangled beyond recognition, including a school bus that was thrown across a highway, and stripped down to its
chassis. A
Huddle House was impacted with enough strength to distort its metal frame, and only one wall was left standing.
Plainview High School sustained $10 to $15 million (2011 USD) in damage to the main school buildings, gymnasiums, sports fields, cafeteria, as well as the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum. Trees were debarked, mobile homes were disintegrated, and homes anchored with bolts and foundation straps were destroyed. Along Lingerfelt Road east of downtown Rainsville, a stone house was destroyed at EF5 strength, the debris widely scattered. A large supporting cement and stone pillar at this property was uprooted entirely, lifting a section of the concrete foundation with it. Multiple vehicles were deformed and destroyed as well, with one tossed into a nearby
ravine. Scouring of the ground and pock-marking were observed, and a considerable number of homes along Lingerfelt Road were swept away. Several roads had their pavement stripped away, and at one residence that suffered EF5 damage, an
safe was pulled off of its anchorage and thrown over into a wooded area. When found, the safe's door had been ripped open and completely torn off. A pick-up truck of considerable size at this location was discovered dispersed in fragments, at a distance of over within the same forest area. The house's occupants took refuge in a
storm pit situated nearby, and while left unharmed, the tornado partially exposed the storm pit, causing soil to be drawn up and removed from around the entrance. The force of the tornado caused another underground storm shelter to heave upwards slightly. Slightly northeast of Lingerfelt Road, more extreme damage was discovered in another corridor from County Road 515 through a neighborhood along County Road 441. Multiple large, two-story homes were wiped completely off their foundations, and cars in this location were also lofted a considerable distance. Another section of pavement near this location was lifted up, and around the pavement significant ground scouring was present. While the damage was violent, almost all the homes in this location were identified to have poor anchoring, and this damage was rated high-end EF4.
Weakening and dissipation The tornado continued across the eastern fringes of
Sylvania, obliterating the Mountain View Baptist Church, pulling up a section of sidewalk, and sweeping away more homes. One home was found obliterated, with a couple being thrown into an open field; their bodies were later found by the police. Although some of these homes were inadequately anchored to their foundations, multiple residences were discovered to have been very well constructed, with adequate anchor bolting and foundation straps. Vehicles in the Sylvania area were mangled as well. More homes were leveled as the tornado tracked further northeast. In the High Point area, metal
transmission truss towers were crumpled on County Road 112. Most homes in this area were poorly constructed and completely destroyed; however, large pieces of debris were found close by, suggesting a decrease in intensity. As the tornado moved southeast of
Henagar and
Ider, many hardwood trees were stripped; some had no stubs of any branches remaining and were partially debarked. A very old, one-story section of a church was completely destroyed near the Blake community. The tornado began to shrink rapidly after this. Upon crossing into
Georgia near Fox Mountain, the tornado continued to produce high-end EF1 damage. The tornado tracked another , crossing
I-59 and moving through
Rising Fawn, before finally dissipating outside the community at 6:55 p.m. CDT/7:55 p.m. EDT (23:55 UTC). ==Aftermath==