The National Weather Service in Huntsville, Al. surveyed storm damage from March 31, 2021, 5 miles ESE of Sylvania, Al. and reported that an EF-1 Tornado touched down at 05:44 AM CDT. The Tornado had peak winds of 86 mph, the path length was 3.17 miles long, and a maximum path width of 50 yards. This Tornado impacted the Lakewood Community in Dekalb county.
Below is the official statement from the NWS:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
330 PM CDT THU APR 1 2021
…NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 03/31/2021 TORNADO EVENT…
…LAKEWOOD TORNADO…
RATING: EF1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 86 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 3.1651 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 50.0 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: 03/31/2021
START TIME: 05:44 AM CDT
START LOCATION: 5 ESE SYLVANIA / DEKALB COUNTY / AL
START LAT/LON: 34.5247 / -85.7278
END DATE: 03/31/2021
END TIME: 05:52 AM CDT
END LOCATION: 3 SW VALLEY HEAD / DEKALB COUNTY / AL
END LAT/LON: 34.524 / -85.6731
THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST EAST OF COUNTY ROAD 486 NEAR COUNTY
ROAD 603 WHERE A FEW LARGE LIMBS WERE BROKEN AND A HOUSE SUFFERED
MINOR ROOF DAMAGE. FROM THERE, THE TORNADO TRAVELED EASTWARD WHERE
A ROW OF CHICKEN HOUSES HAD PART OF THEIR ROOFS REMOVED. IN THIS
LOCATION, ALONG COUNTY ROAD 698, A WELL ANCHORED PORCH WAS REMOVED
FROM A MANUFACTURED HOME. THE TORNADO CONTINUED ON ITS EASTWARD PATH
TOWARD COUNTY ROAD 952 WHERE THE MOST EXTENSIVE DAMAGE OCCURRED.
HERE, DOZENS OF TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED, AND ONE HOME SUSTAINED
MINOR DAMAGE. THE TORNADO LIFTED JUST EAST OF 68TH STREET NORTHWEST.
EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO
THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES.
EF0…WEAK……65 TO 85 MPH
EF1…WEAK……86 TO 110 MPH
EF2…STRONG….111 TO 135 MPH
EF3…STRONG….136 TO 165 MPH
EF4…VIOLENT…166 TO 200MPH
EF5…VIOLENT…>200MPH
NOTE:
THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT AND PUBLICATION IN
NWS STORM DATA.
