2011 Hackleburg – Phil Campbell, Alabama tornado
| EF5 tornado | |
|---|---|
|
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| Formed | April 27, 2011, 3:05 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Duration | 2 hours, 35 minutes |
| Dissipated | April 27, 2011, 5:40 p.m. CDT (UTC–05:00) |
| Max rating1 | EF5 tornado |
| Highest winds |
|
| Damage | $1.29 billion (2011 USD) |
| Casualties | 72 fatalities, 145+ injuries (Deadliest tornado in Alabama history) |
| Areas affected | Hackleburg, Phil Campbell, Tanner, Harvest in Alabama and Huntland, Tennessee (part of a larger outbreak) |
|
1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale Part of the 2011 Super Outbreak |
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1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale
The 2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell, Alabama tornado was a violent, long-track EF5 wedge tornado that devastated several towns in northern Alabama, United States, before tearing through the northern suburbs of Huntsville and causing damage in rural portions of southern Tennessee on the afternoon and early evening of April 27, 2011. It was the deadliest tornado of the 2011 Super Outbreak, the largest tornado outbreak in United States history. The tornado reached a maximum width of 1.25 miles (2.01 km) and was estimated to have had peak winds of 210 mph (340 km/h). The tornado killed 72 people, making it the deadliest tornado in Alabama history, and injured at least 145 others. It was the deadliest tornado to strike the U.S. since the Udall, Kansas tornado of 1955 until the catastrophic tornado on May 22, 2011, which killed 158 people in Joplin, Missouri.
The environmental conditions leading up to the April 2011 Super Outbreak were among the "most conducive to violent tornadoes ever documented". On April 25, a vigorous upper-level shortwave trough that moved into the Southern Plains states. Ample instability, low-level moisture, and wind shear 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 River 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 hours followed by a widespread outbreak of supercells from Mississippi to North Carolina during the afternoon into the evening.
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