The intersection of Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama is not in Tornado Alley, but it is still a frequent target of the often deadly force of nature. Residents of the region were reminded of that late Saturday and early Sunday when twisters touched down in the dark. There were no deaths in our vicinity in the wake of the storms, but many injuries and major damage were reported.
Those who heeded early warnings and safely weathered the winds are fortunate. Tornadoes produced by the same weather system that brought twisters to this area killed 12 people and caused immense destruction elsewhere across the South.
U.S. Weather Service teams were visiting sites in Alabama and Georgia on Monday to assess damage and to gather additional data about the number, duration and paths of the tornadoes. Final reports won’t be available for a time, but initial indications are that at least four tornadoes that caused non-life threatening injuries to several dozen people in the area reached the ground.
Though official designations can change as additional information is gathered, three of the four Saturday tornadoes currently are categorized as EF-3, with winds of 135-165 mph. Tornadoes of that strength cause extensive damage to roofs and walls of structures and snap large hardwood trees at their base. Winds in the higher EF-3 range can peel bark off trees. There’s ample evidence of destruction commensurate with an EF-3 rating in nearby Dekalb County in Alabama.
In Mount Vernon, in the extreme southeast part of the county, winds estimated to be 150 mph almost completely leveled McNutt Memorial United Methodist Church. Some tombstones in a nearby cemetery were knocked down as well, as the tornado, estimated to be between a fourth-to-a-half-mile wide traveled about 7.3 miles on the ground. A Weather Service meteorologist categorized that tornado as the strongest of the quartet to hit the region.