On This Date in 2012

Back on this date in 2012, Alabama was included in a Moderate Risk severe weather outlook from the Storm Prediction Center. Parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and southern Indiana were in a rare high risk, as JB noted in this morning post.

The risks were pretty spot on. Here are the severe weather reports from March 2nd.

Shortly after JB wrote that post, tornadoes were on the ground in North Alabama, doing damage.

Morning supercells spawned six tornadoes across Limestone and Madison Counties. One followed a similar path to one of the deadliest tornadoes on April 27, 2011. In the Huntsville area, two tornadoes, including an EF2 and an EF1, damaged or destroyed 200 homes, a maximum security state prison and a high school.

When the outbreak was over the next day, an outbreak across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys produced 70 tornadoes and and killed 41 people. Hardest hit was Kentucky, where 22 died. Thirteen died in Indiana, four in Ohio and one each in Alabama and Georgia.

The town of West Liberty, Kentucky, which was nearly destroyed. The town of Marysville, IN was completely destroyed and Henryville, IN, the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Harlan Sanders, was heavily damaged. The Henryville tornado was rated as an EF-4.

Category: Met 101/Weather History, Severe Weather