The old Winterboro High School building had significant damaged from the March 15 and 16 storms that caused more than a dozen possible tornadoes across the state. (Courtesy of National Weather Service in Birmingham)
The National Weather Service said Monday that at least seven tornadoes hit central Alabama on Saturday.
The tornadoes, which ranged from EF0 to EF3, left at least three people dead and three others injured between Saturday night and Sunday early morning, with officials reporting two deaths in Dallas County and one in Talladega County.
“We had the [tornado in] Plantersville, and that’s the strongest so far,” said Jason Holmes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham. “We rated it EF3, 140 mph winds there. That’s also where we had two fatalities and two injuries, and that Winterboro one had one fatality and one injury.”
The tornado in Talladega near Winterboro was rated an EF2, with wind peaking at 120 mph. Another EF2 touched ground in Tallapoosa County, reaching wind peaks of 120 mph.
Two EF1 tornadoes spawned in Shelby, one in Calera and another in Montevallo, and both produced winds reaching 90 mph.
An EF0 tornado, with wind gusts reaching 80 mph, touched down in the Thomas Mill area of Bibb County. Another EF0, with winds also reaching 80 mph, developed in Hale County in the Gallion area before reaching Perry County.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said it tracked at least 16 possible tornadoes in central Alabama on radar Saturday, and NWS teams are still surveying the affected areas. The NWS office in Huntsville has not confirmed any tornadoes but is still surveying areas, and the office in Mobile reported little damage but did not have affected areas to survey.
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