2011 Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado

Setup The environmental conditions leading up to the 2011 Super Outbreak were among the "most conducive to violent tornadoes ever documented". On April 25, a vigorous upper-level shortwave trough moved into the Southern Plains states. Ample instability, low-level moisture, and wind shear all fueled a significant tornado outbreak from Texas to Tennessee; at least 64 tornadoes touched down on this day. Another 50 tornadoes touched down on this day. This produced the last and most violent round of severe weather, which began around 2:30 p.m. CDT for northern Alabama as supercells began to line up to the southwest of the area. During the early afternoon hours, the potential for destructive tornadoes was highlighted by the Storm Prediction Center's upgrade to a high risk for severe weather around 1:00 p.m. CDT. The potential for tornadoes ramped up from noon through 9:00 p.m. CDT. During this period, much of Alabama experienced numerous supercell thunderstorms that produced violent tornadoes, one being the Tuscaloosa tornado. Shortly thereafter, at 3:09 p.m. CDT (20:09 UTC), the National Weather Service office in Jackson, Mississippi issued the first tornado warning on the supercell that would eventually produce the Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado. ==Tornado summary==

Formation, Greene County to Tuscaloosa The supercell produced a large wedge tornado in rural Greene County, Alabama, which tracked towards the adjacent Tuscaloosa County at EF2 intensity, uprooting numerous trees and causing minor damage to structures. Near Union at 4:50 p.m. CDT, footage of the wedge tornado was captured by meteorologist John Oldshue during a storm chase for Birmingham ABC affiliate WBMA-LD/WCFT-TV/WJSU-TV (channels 58, 33, and 40 – "ABC 33/40"), which broadcast Oldshue's live video of the tornado as he was tracking it outside of town. This was the first video evidence that the tornado had touched the ground; the video, along with NEXRAD evidence of a tornado debris signature, prompted the National Weather Service office in Birmingham to declare a tornado emergency. Rapidly intensifying, the tornado moved towards the southern and eastern portions of Tuscaloosa at around 5:10 p.m. CDT (22:10 UTC). Skycams operated by Tuscaloosa-based television station WVUA-CA (channel 7) as well as Birmingham Fox affiliate WBRC (channel 6) and ABC 33/40, and a ground-based camera crew with CBS affiliate WIAT (channel 42) captured video of the tornado as it struck Tuscaloosa. The ABC 33/40 feed was periodically disrupted due to power outages caused by wind damage to electrical transformers. As it entered the city, Skycam footage showed surface condensation in the tornado, outside of a visible debris cloud, had briefly lifted; a discernible wedge-shaped condensation funnel, with occasional horizontal and vertical subvortices, subsequently touched back down at the surface as it began moving into neighborhoods in southern Tuscaloosa. . The complex was later rebuilt. The tornado entered the southern portion of Tuscaloosa as a low-end EF4 and crossed 35th Street, completely destroying a cell phone tower and several warehouses in an industrial area. It passed within a half mile of the Tuscaloosa Police Department Headquarters, forcing the evacuation of the dispatch personnel from the third floor offices until the storm passed. At that same time, the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Office sustained a direct hit and was totally destroyed along with most of their equipment and vehicles but with no injuries to the staff present. The tornado then ripped through the neighborhoods of Rosedale and Forest Lake, leveling and sweeping away numerous poorly anchored homes. Several apartment complexes were entirely destroyed in this area, and a few two-story apartment buildings were completely reduced to rubble. The tornado crossed the intersection of 15th Street and McFarland Boulevard, and numerous businesses and restaurants near the University Mall were completely flattened at low-end EF4 strength, and vehicles were either tossed around or destroyed. Holt The tornado then grew from wide and ripped through the suburb of Holt, leveling and sweeping away homes while still at low-end EF4 strength. Every tree was snapped in this area, including those within deep ravines. As it crossed Hurricane Creek, it tore apart a large metal railroad trestle, and a metal truss support structure was thrown up on a nearby hill. A marina on Holt Lake was significantly impacted, with numerous boats and a restaurant destroyed; some boats were tossed over in this area. The tornado exited the Tuscaloosa area and weakened to low-end EF3 status while contracting back to wide. It continued through a dense forest towards Birmingham, this time downing thousands of trees and flattening more rural homes. Numerous trees were completely denuded and debarked as the tornado passed near the rural communities of Searles and Mud Creek, and debris from Tuscaloosa was reported to be falling from the sky across Birmingham over away in Jefferson County. A total of 44 people were killed in the Tuscaloosa area. Birmingham to I-65 and dissipation After causing massive timber damage in rural areas, the tornado entered Jefferson County and rapidly intensified to its maximum intensity and width. Many stations, including WIAT, the WBMA trimulcast, CBS affiliate WTVY (channel 4) in Dothan and NBC affiliate WSFA (channel 12) in Montgomery, showed television cameras capturing the event as the tornado – which appeared wider than its estimated width during that section of the path as the condensation funnel was partially obscured by a debris cloud and a dense rain shaft – moved east-northeast across the western and northern suburbs of Birmingham at high-end EF4 strength around 6:00 p.m. CDT (23:00 UTC). Several suburbs in the area sustained catastrophic damage from the tornado as it tore through the west side of Birmingham, resulting in twenty fatalities. The suburbs of Concord, Pleasant Grove, and McDonald Chapel, along with residential areas in northern Birmingham itself, were devastated. Extensive wind-rowing of debris was noted in Concord and Pleasant Grove, numerous trees were debarked, and some homes were swept away (though much of the debris remained next to the foundations and was not scattered, and most vehicles were not moved more than ). As the tornado moved across a coal yard in this area, a coal car was thrown through the air. Past the coal yard, the tornado weakened to EF2 intensity, but still was able to destroy numerous pier and beam foundations homes and several industrial warehouses in McDonald Chapel. Possible EF5 intensity photo) The National Weather Service determined the path length of this violent tornado to be with a maximum damage path width of , or . The final rating of this tornado was a source of controversy, as some survey teams concluded EF5 damage, while others did not. The structures that were swept away by this tornado were either improperly anchored, lacked interior walls, or were surrounded by contextual damage not consistent with winds exceeding , and as a result an EF5 rating could not be applied. Therefore, it was given a final rating of high-end EF4, with winds estimated at . On January 23, 2025, tornado expert Anthony W. Lyza with the National Severe Storms Laboratory along with Harold E. Brooks and Makenzie J. Kroca with the University of Oklahoma’s School of Meteorology published a paper to the American Meteorological Society, where they stated the tornado in Tuscaloosa was an "EF5 candidate" and opined that the EF5 starting wind speed should be instead of . ==Aftermath==

after the EF4 tornado. By the time the tornado lifted northeast of Birmingham, it had left behind a path of destruction of through Greene, Tuscaloosa and Jefferson counties. The tornado killed 64 people, including six University of Alabama students. It caused approximately $2.4 billion of property damage, surpassing the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado as the costliest single tornado in United States history at that time. Less than a month later, however, this number was surpassed by the Joplin, Missouri tornado, which caused $2.8 billion in damage. Early reports indicated 65 people were killed, with over 1,000 injured. However, this was revised to 64 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries. President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Tuscaloosa on April 29, taking a ground tour of some of the affected areas. Obama was quoted as saying that he had "never seen devastation like this." He stated further that he had already declared a federal state of emergency in Alabama. The effects of the tornado arguably contributed to a decrease in affordable housing in what has been called "an uneven recovery" for Tuscaloosa. ==See also==