On March 18, the Storm Prediction Center issued a slight risk for severe weather across much of the Southern United States.
Scattered severe weather occurred, including an EF1 tornado that caused minor damage near the town of Glazier, Texas.
The system pushed eastward on March 19, along with a highly unstable and sheared environment in place across portions of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
The SPC then issued a moderate risk for severe weather, including a 15% hatched risk area for tornadoes.
Multiple strong tornadoes touched down that evening, including an EF2 that uprooted hundreds of trees and ripped roofs off of homes near Ardmore, Alabama.
A high-end EF2 severely damaged or destroyed several homes near the town of Southside.
The most significant tornado of the event was a damaging, long-tracked EF3 that struck Jacksonville, Alabama, where the Jacksonville State University campus and multiple apartment complexes sustained major damage.
The same tornado also destroyed several houses and mobile homes in the small community of Nances Creek.
In Russellville, an EF1 tornado caused minor damage to numerous homes and several businesses.
Further east in Georgia, an EF2 tornado touched down in the Atlanta suburb of South Fulton, damaging many homes in a subdivision.
The supercell thunderstorms that produced the tornadoes during this event were very high-precipitation in nature, some of which even produced some very large hail; this included baseball to grapefruit-sized hailstones that fell across several counties in northern Alabama.
One particularly massive hailstone found in Cullman County was measured at approximately 5.25 inches in peak width, had a circumference of 13.75 inches, and weighed 8.9 ounces; that made it the largest hailstone ever recorded in Alabama state history.
No fatalities occurred during this outbreak, though seven people were injured.
A total of 22 tornadoes were confirmed.
On March 18, the Storm Prediction Center issued a slight risk for severe weather across much of the Southern United States. Scattered severe weather occurred, including an EF1 tornado that caused minor damage near the town of Glazier, Texas. The system pushed eastward on March 19, along with a highly unstable and sheared environment in place across portions of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. The SPC then issued a moderate risk for severe weather, including a 15% hatched risk area for tornadoes. Multiple strong tornadoes touched down that evening, including an EF2 that uprooted hundreds of trees and ripped roofs off of homes near Ardmore, Alabama. A high-end EF2 severely damaged or destroyed several homes near the town of Southside. The most significant tornado of the event was a damaging, long-tracked EF3 that struck Jacksonville, Alabama, where the Jacksonville State University campus and multiple apartment complexes sustained major damage. The same tornado also destroyed several houses and mobile homes in the small community of Nances Creek. In Russellville, an EF1 tornado caused minor damage to numerous homes and several businesses. Further east in Georgia, an EF2 tornado touched down in the Atlanta suburb of South Fulton, damaging many homes in a subdivision. The supercell thunderstorms that produced the tornadoes during this event were very high-precipitation in nature, some of which even produced some very large hail; this included baseball to grapefruit-sized hailstones that fell across several counties in northern Alabama. One particularly massive hailstone found in Cullman County was measured at approximately 5.25 inches in peak width, had a circumference of 13.75 inches, and weighed 8.9 ounces; that made it the largest hailstone ever recorded in Alabama state history. No fatalities occurred during this outbreak, though seven people were injured. A total of 22 tornadoes were confirmed.
Tornadoes of 2018