During the afternoon hours of Thursday, January 12, 2023, a large, strong, and deadly EF3 tornado moved through parts of central Alabama, causing severe damage in and around numerous communities. The tornado, known as the Old Kingston-Lake Martin Tornado by the National Weather Service (NWS), tracked through multiple counties and communities over a time span of 1 hour and 28 minutes, killing seven people and injuring a further 16. The tornado produced damage that was rated mid-range EF3 intensity on the Enhanced Fujita scale by the NWS in Birmingham, Alabama, and was part of an early season, larger single-day tornado outbreak that produced 42 tornadoes in total across the Southeastern United States.
Prior to the Old Kingston-Lake Martin tornado, the parent supercell, having initiated in Louisiana, also produced a high-end EF2 tornado that moved through the southern side of Selma, injuring two people. After the dissipation of the Old Kingston-Lake Martin tornado, another large, high-end EF2 tornado struck the community of Standing Rock before moving into Georgia and passing near Covered Bridge. The supercell produced nine more tornadoes as part of a tornado family in west-central Georgia, including four EF2-rated tornadoes and an extremely large high-end EF3 tornado that moved through parts of Griffin and Experiment. The supercell dissipated while still in Georgia.
The tornado began near Independence in Autauga County, initially causing minor damage before rapidly intensifying to EF3 strength and its peak strength as it moved through Old Kingston. Numerous manufactured homes were obliterated, and all 7 fatalities associated with the tornado occurred there. The tornado passed to the east of Browntown, then struck both Oak Grove and the Marbury neighborhood of Wadsworth at EF2 strength. The tornado fluctuated between EF1-EF2 strength as it passed through Elmore County, then reached EF3 strength twice in Coosa County near Speed & Equality as it debarked trees and severely damaged homes. As it continued through Tallapoosa County, the tornado caused EF2 damage in the Lake Martin community of River Bend, damaging numerous residential buildings before moving directly through Sessions at EF1 strength. The tornado then entered Chambers County, causing minor damage near Union Hill before dissipating shortly thereafter near Penton. The tornado was on the ground for 1 hour and 28 minutes over an 82 mile long path.
Meteorological synopsis
One day prior to the event on January 11, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) denoted a Marginal risk across parts of the Mid-South preceding the overnight and early morning hours. The environment was initially capped, although conditions were expected to become increasingly supportive of severe weather as a mid-level trough approached the region, alongside a moistening airmass. On January 12, the SPC introduced a 0600 UTC Day 1 Enhanced risk over parts of east-central Alabama and north-central Georgia, driven primarily by the risk of damaging winds as the threat of severe weather grew substantially. In the region, numerical weather prediction models indicated the presence of 6.5 C/km mid-level lapse rates and 500-1000 J/kg convective available potential energy (CAPE) values supportive of transient supercells and bowing segments. However, it also found only modest low-level moisture, causing the SPC to outline a large 5% risk for tornadoes over the majority of the lower Tennessee Valley, including the majority of Alabama and Georgia, western Mississippi, southeastern Tennessee, southwestern North Carolina, and northwestern South Carolina.
As the day progressed, advanced potential for tornadic development became apparent along a focused corridor over east-central Alabama and northwestern Georgia. There, effective storm-relative helicity, a measure of the potential for updrafts in supercells, exceeded 300 m2/s2, and CAPE values rose into the 1,000-1,500 J/kg range. Accordingly, the SPC increased their tornado threat to a 10% over the aforementioned areas in their 1300 UTC outlook. However, they did not include the potential of strong tornadoes in the outlook, as the primary threat was still thought to be damaging winds. During the morning hours, a defined line consisting of severe thunderstorms with embedded supercell structures and numerous discrete supercells developed and moved through the highlighted area. Multiple tornadoes, some significant, formed and prompted tornado emergencies for multiple counties as they caused extensive damage. As the day progressed, the SPC hatched part of their 10% risk for tornadoes across east-central Alabama and western Georgia in their 20:00 UTC outlook, outlining the possibility of strong (EF2+) tornadoes. The long-tracked supercell that produced the Old Kingston-Lake Martin tornado tracked from Louisiana to Georgia, producing a total of 12 tornadoes before dissipating during the night hours.
Tornado summary
Formation & peak intensity in Autauga County Nine minutes after producing a high-end EF2 tornado that struck Selma, the parent supercell crossed into Autauga County from Dallas County, and produced a multiple-vortex tornado at 12:40 p.m. CDT, to the west of Independence. Moving northeastwards at speeds up to 55 mph through mainly rural areas at EF0 strength, The tornado initially caused minor damage to timber on farms. Crossing US 82 to the south of Joffre, the tornado intensified to EF1 strength, causing severe roof and wall damage to a house, then snapping trees, blowing a shed, and rolling a manufactured home across the adjacent County Road 40. Continuing northeastwards, the tornado entered the community of Old Kingston, which had been struck by an EF0 tornado just nine days prior, and rapidly intensified to low-end EF3 strength as it began to widen substantially along County Road 40 W, blowing away a manufactured home and denuding & partially debarking trees behind the property.
Moving along County Road 43, the tornado further intensified to its peak mid-range EF3 strength. There, at least three manufactured homes were obliterated, their frames stripped bare and thrown up to 100 yards downwind, and a nearby truck was sent airborne for 120 yards, landing with such force that it left a shallow crater in the ground upon its impact. Along the nearby Sandy Ridge Road, the tornado obliterated numerous manufactured homes, both single wide & double wide. The frame of one manufactured home was thrown 250 yards north-northeastwards into an open field, and trees in the area were snapped & partially debarked. A total of five people were killed along Sandy Ridge Road across three separate residences, four from the same family. Just downwind, numerous manufactured homes in a cluster were shredded and thrown considerable distances.
Crossing County Road 21 N, the tornado snapped trees, damaged houses, and damaged metal power poles. Maintaining EF3 strength, the now large tornado struck County Road 140, blowing away at least five manufactured homes and throwing their frames considerable distances. Multiple vehicles were lofted and thrown, including a pickup truck that had its cab separated from the bed by the force of the tornado. Two more fatalities occurred on the eastern end of the road at two adjacent manufactured homes, one of which was anchored and was sucked into the center of the tornado, thrown 80 yards to the north into thick trees with the occupant inside. The other was blown away, similar to many others in the Old Kingston community.
Continuing northeastwards, the tornado narrowed slightly and caused widespread severe tree damage along Autauga Creek and County Road 42 as it snapped, denuded, and debarked numerous hardwood trees. In the three mile stretch of most severe damage wrought by the tornado from County Road 43 to County Road 42, wind speeds reached up to . Based on the damage scene and contextual evidence, the National Weather Service in Birmingham stated that it was possible that winds exceeding 150 mph were present in the area. However, with only manufactured homes in the path during its peak strength, which can only be given a maximum rating of EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, there were no damage indicators supportive of a higher rating.
Exiting the Old Kingston community, the tornado followed County Road 57, collapsing the exterior walls of a two-story house on the western side of the road at low-end EF3 strength with winds up to before weakening to mid-range–high-end EF2 strength as it moved directly through Oak Grove. There, softwood trees were snapped, and two homes sustained major damage to their roof systems, one of which was removed entirely. On the adjacent County Road 62, a house had most of its exterior walls collapsed before the tornado briefly weakened back to EF1 strength, snapping & uprooting numerous trees. At around the same time, a strong TVS signature on weather radar prompted a tornado emergency for the northeastern portions of Autauga County.
The tornado approached and crossed I-65 and US 31, veering towards the east-northeast. There, the tornado briefly attained EF2 strength and caused roof damage to several homes in the Pine Level community and rolled a manufactured home off of its foundation onto County Road 68. Just downwind, the tornado uprooted numerous trees in the Pine Flat community before moving through the southern outskirts of Marbury and directly through the neighborhood of Wadsworth. One manufactured home along County Road 68 E was destroyed, hospitalizing an occupant, another house sustained roof damage, and widespread tree damage occurred as many were uprooted and snapped. The tornado removed the roof structure of a home as it intensified to EF2 strength once again near the Elmore County line, causing major roof damage to multiple site-built homes along County Road 68. At around the same time, the Storm Prediction Center issued a mesoscale discussion noting that a "strong to intense" tornado was likely ongoing across Autauga County, and would pose a wind damage threat after its dissipation. The tornado crossed Wolf Creek into Elmore County shortly thereafter, for which another tornado emergency was issued alongside Chilton and Coosa counties.
Track in Elmore County & Coosa County
Upon entering the northwestern edge of Elmore County, the tornado caused major roof damage to a house on Tram Road before briefly weakening back to EF1 strength, uprooting trees along Johnson Road. Crossing over Trough Creek, the tornado attained EF2 strength once again before throwing a manufactured home into the tree, rolling & destroying another, and removing the majority of the roof structure from a house at the intersection of Lightwood Road and Coosa River Road. Numerous trees in the area were downed as the tornado narrowed in size and approached & crossed the Coosa River, weakening to EF1 strength. There, the tornado struck Neely Road on the west bank and Kelly Road on the east bank, and several homes lost portions of their roofs. Continuing northeastwards, the tornado struck a house along Titus Road/Highway 29, briefly attaining EF2 strength as it removed a significant portion of its roof system. The tornado weakened once again, then regained EF2 strength as it uprooted and snapped numerous pine trees along Grays Ferry Road. Approaching Weoka Creek, the tornado weakened back to EF1 strength, snapping & uprooting trees as it continued through rural, sparsely populated areas of Elmore County. The tornado entered southern Coosa County just to the west of US 231.