The tornado which ripped through parts of Pike and Bullock counties Saturday was rated to be an EF2 twister, over three quarters of a mile wide.
Peak winds were at 130 mph along its 21-mile path.
It touched down at 11:02 p.m. at County Road 2228 and was on the ground for 26 minutes.
Tree damage was reported all along its path, the tornado snapping branches and in some cases uprooting and snapping whole trees.
The Troy Parks and Recreation building and softball fields at the Troy Sportsplex suffered roof damage.
A service station canopy was damaged, and one home was damaged to the point of being uninhabitable. A metal building in Banks was also damaged. A semi truck was flipped as well.
Spring weather Tuesday and Wednesday, brief blow of cooler air back on Thursday. Then all good going into weekend.
Today and tomorrow blue cloudless skies and brilliant sunshine will help high temperatures rise to near 80 today and warmer still tomorrow.
So after a cool start a big warm-up is coming. Winds drop off today.
Wednesday will see plenty of sunshine and warmer temperatures. Looks like rains are gone until next week.
Thursday an approaching front will deliver much cooler weather. Highs will only be in the mid 60s and low temperatures may be down into the mid 30s by dawn Friday.
Then spring warmth flows back in with a great weather weekend for outdoors activities.
A woman was charged with arson for the structure fire on Bell Street on March 8th.
Latasha Renae Bryant from Dothan faces a first-degree arson charge after police say she spread an accelerant around a home and lit it on fire while three people were inside. No significant injuries were reported.
The Wiregrass was thankfully spared from the dangerous weather that rolled through the South this weekend, but local meteorologists and news media have received messages from angry viewers that the situation was blown out of proportion.
Reader, please save your ire.
This storm was dangerous — at least 40 people died across the country from weekend storms.
Alongside all the negatives of the digital age in which we live, there are a few glaring positives: weather knowledge and awareness have incredible upward potential, and local experts are available on a variety of platforms to inform you about dangerous situations before they happen.
Local meteorologists were up all night Saturday into Sunday in wall-to-wall coverage to monitor the weather, as we had every ingredient for tornados.
Our diligent weather aficionados are there to keep you informed when severe weather could and has the potential to happen.
I am a big supporter of focusing on gratitude when anger or disappointment strikes.
Take some time to look at what the aftermath of a tornado looks like (if you haven’t already seen it) and simply thank baby Jesus and the grown one, too, that we did not have to see such destruction in our own backyards.
Look out at your patio furniture which may have simply been blown over and think to yourself, “Self, I’m happy I don’t have to do more cleanup than righting this chair.”
Watch the news today and be glad that person reporting on continual windy weather today not only knows the warning signs for tornados but also is there literally in rain or shine to make sure you know how to keep yourself safe.
Sunny, breezy and cool are the weather words for the next few days. Even with few clouds today temperatures will not warm to 70. So after a chilly start to Monday, temperatures are expected to top out near 67 degrees with a stiff wind, sometimes gusting over 20 mph, making for a cool windswept day.
Tonight will be colder. Temps may drop into the upper 30s by dawn Tuesday.
But then we have several beautiful Spring days to enjoy. Tuesday, Wednesday and on into the weekend, each day will be sunny and warmer; near 80 degrees for highs by mid-week and after tonight each night will be gradually milder.
