During the afternoon of April 27, 2011, a large, long-lived and deadly EF5 tornado, commonly known as either the Hackleburg tornado or the Phil Campbell tornado, devastated several towns in rural northern Alabama before tearing through the northern suburbs of Huntsville. It was the deadliest tornado of the 2011 Super Outbreak, the largest tornado outbreak in United States history. The second of four EF5 tornadoes to touch down on April 27, along with the Philadelphia, Mississippi, Smithville, Mississippi, and Rainsville, Alabama tornadoes; the tornado reached a maximum width of and was estimated to have had peak winds of , and a total path length of about , making it the third-longest-tracked tornado of the entire outbreak after the Cordova–Blountsville EF4 tornado and Enterprise, Mississippi, EF4 tornadoes.
The tornado first touched down at 3:05 p.m. CDT (2005 UTC) southwest of Hamilton, Alabama, before quickly becoming violent and reaching EF5 intensity as it approached and struck Hackleburg, destroying a large portion of the town. The tornado maintained EF5 intensity as it struck Phil Campbell, again sweeping numerous homes off foundations, and then peaking in intensity and width shortly afterwards as it entered more rural areas. It weakened somewhat thereafter but re-strengthened as it hit Tanner (previously hit by two F5 tornadoes in the 1974 Super Outbreak). It weakened after hitting Tanner and lifted just south of the Alabama–Tennessee border at 4:50 p.m. CDT (2150 UTC). In total, the tornado was on the ground for nearly two hours, making it the second-longest lived tornado of the outbreak. Hundreds of homes were either destroyed or reduced to foundations as a result of the tornado.
In total, the tornado killed 71 people across five counties. It was the deadliest single tornado ever to strike the state of Alabama as well as the deadliest in the United States since a 1955 tornado in Udall, Kansas killed 80 people – the Joplin EF5 tornado a month later killed 158. The path of the tornado was long and extended across much of Northern Alabama. Damage wrought by the tornado amounted to $1.29 billion (2011 USD), making it the seventh-costliest tornado in United States history, unaccounted for inflation.
Meteorological synopsis
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. An area of low pressure consolidated over Texas on April 26 and traveled east while the aforementioned shortwave trough traversed the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. Another 50 tornadoes touched down on this day. The multi-day outbreak culminated on April 27 with the most violent day of tornadic activity since the 1974 Super Outbreak. Multiple episodes of tornadic activity ensued with two waves of mesoscale convective systems in the morning followed by a widespread outbreak of supercells from Mississippi to North Carolina during the afternoon into the evening.
Tornadic activity on April 27 was precipitated by a 995 mbar (hPa; 29.39 inHg) surface low situated over Kentucky and a deep, negatively tilted (aligned northwest to southeast) trough over Arkansas and Louisiana. A strong southwesterly surface jet intersected these systems at a 60° angle, an ageostrophic flow that led to storm-relative helicity values in excess of 500 m2s−2—indicative of extreme wind shear and a very high potential for rotating updrafts within supercells. Ample moisture from the Gulf of Mexico was brought north across the Deep South, leading to daytime high temperatures of and dewpoints of . Furthermore, convective available potential energy (CAPE) values reached 2,500–3,000 J/kg.
Forecast
On the morning of April 27, a strong cold front with several areas of embedded low pressure extended from the Texas Hill Country northeastward towards the Arklatex and the Ozarks, and later into the lower Ohio Valley. Warm moist air was in place due to strong southerly flow ahead of the front over Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. An upper level disturbance sparked a broad area of showers and thunderstorms as it moved across the frontal boundary on the previous evening. The eastern edge of the line of showers and storms continued to move eastward, in concert with the upper disturbance, reaching the northwest Alabama border around 2:00 a.m. CDT.
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, 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. This prompted a particularly dangerous situation (PDS) tornado watch, which was issued for northern Alabama and portions of southern Tennessee at 1:45 p.m. CDT. The bulletin that accompanied the watch read:
The potential for tornadoes ramped up from noon through 9:00 p.m. CDT. During this period, much of Mississippi and Alabama experienced numerous supercell thunderstorms that produced violent tornadoes, including four EF5 tornadoes, one being the Hackleburg tornado.
Tornado summary
Formation and track through Hackleburg Deaths in HackleburgNameAgeBridgett Brisbois34Charles Garner75Mae Garner79Cledis McCarley69Chris Dunn32Donna Jokela77Kaarlo Jokela76Ed Hall53Faye O'Kelley70Freddie Lollie81Vicki Lollie55John Lynch70Ken Vaughn24Linda Knight57Robbie Cox68Teresa Hall50Tina Donais36Vicky McKee47 The tornado initially touched down in Marion County, Alabama about west-southwest of Hamilton around 3:05 p.m. CDT and tracked to the northeast, causing significant tree and roof damage. Damage at the beginning of the path ranged from EF1 to EF2. The tornado rapidly intensified and reached EF4 strength as it approached US 43. Along Highway 43, the tornado destroyed several homes and collapsed the exterior walls of a brick residence. The tornado killed one person as it moved over Highway 43 a second time, striking a vehicle and killing the occupant.
As it approached Hackleburg, moving parallel to US 43, the tornado further strengthened to EF5 intensity and widened to , sweeping away numerous homes along the highway. The tornado moved over populated areas as it entered into the southwestern side of Hackleburg, where a man was killed after refusing to take cover in a storm shelter. A dog that was owned by the man was found over a mile away with serious injuries.
As the tornado impacted Hackleburg, it heavily damaged an elementary and high school, while tearing at least two poorly built concrete storm shelters out of the ground and dislodging the steel door of another. Two occupants of a well-built storm shelter were injured when the tornado tore the door off of its hinges; the home that the shelter rested under was completely destroyed. The tornado dropped a car into the kitchen of another home, but the owner of the home survived.The tornado maintained EF5 strength as it struck a Piggly Wiggly grocery store, a shopping center, and a Wrangler Jeans plant, tossing cars as far as from where they originated. At least one of the homes swept away in Hackleburg was bolted to its foundation, and a brick home in the city's southwest portion had its poured concrete stem walls sheared off at ground level. Extensive wind-rowing of debris was also noted in the area. Jeans from the Wrangler plant reportedly fell from the sky in Courtland, Alabama, roughly away. Photographs were recovered as far away as Tennessee.
Several buildings in downtown Hackleburg were badly damaged as well. According to the Red Cross, 75% of the town was destroyed. A total of 18 people died in the Hackleburg area. While the damage was initially rated EF3, after further analysis of the damage in and around Hackleburg, the rating was increased to EF5, making it the first F5 or EF5 tornado in Alabama since the 1998 Birmingham tornado. The presence of well-built homes swept away, extensive wind-rowing, and cars thrown hundreds of yards were the main factors that led to the EF5 rating in Hackleburg.
Phil Campbell Deaths in Phil CampbellNameAgeDonna Berry52Nila Black68Zan Reese Black45Jack Cox78Donnie Gentry63Patricia Gentry50Lester Hood81James Keller Jr.33Rickey Knox10Amy LeClere33Jay LeClere45Dagmar Leyden56Claudia Mojica38Edgar Mojica9Edna Nix89Martha Pace64Georgia Scribner83Jack Tenhaeff67Sonya Trapp47Carroll Waller76Gerri Waller64
The tornado damaged several small homes as it neared the Franklin County line. Eighteen people were killed in the Hackleburg area, and 150 others would sustain various degrees of injuries. The tornado damaged 495 structures along a path. At 3:28 p.m. CDT, the tornado crossed into Franklin County, moving to the northeast at an estimated forward speed of while having a maximum width of . After passing through approximately three miles of vegetation and trees, the tornado crossed Woodward Road, located to the southwest of Phil Campbell. Several homes in the area were completely destroyed, and trees were set aloft by the tornado. The tornado ripped the roof off of another concrete storm shelter as it entered into Phil Campbell, where twenty-one people would be killed. Several homes in Phil Campbell were swept away, some of which even had their block foundations destroyed as well. A section of pavement was scoured from a road in Phil Campbell, with chunks of asphalt scattered up to away, and numerous trees were completely denuded and debarked, one of which had a car wrapped around it. Three churches were destroyed, one of which was reduced to a bare slab. Multiple mobile homes were obliterated as well, with their mangled frames tossed up to away.
Peak intensity, Mount Hope to Trinity EF4 and EF5 damage continued as the tornado exited Phil Campbell and tore through rural areas, sweeping away additional homes as it roughly followed County Roads 81 and 82. The tornado then reached its maximum intensity as it tore through the rural community of Oak Grove, with the damage intensity reaching well into the EF5 range and a path width over a mile wide. Oak Grove suffered a large swath of total devastation as large and well-built brick homes with extensive anchoring were swept completely away, with the debris strewn and wind-rowed long distances through nearby fields. A Corvette was thrown and severely mangled, and a vehicle missing from one residence was never found. A large metal chicken house completely vanished, with nothing recovered at the site but a single piece of metal truss, and numerous large trees in this area were completely debarked. A total of 27 people were killed in Franklin County, mainly in and around Phil Campbell.