Central Alabama tornado outbreak April 15, 2011. (National Weather Service)

HOLT, Fla., April 15, 2020—Severe thunderstorm activity Easter Day produced three tornadoes in Alabama.

According to the National Weather Service, three separate EF-1 tornadoes were confirmed based on damage reports in Choctaw, Wilcox and Clark counties.

All three registered wind speed of more than 100 mph.

Choctaw and Clark county tornadoes traveled less than a mile on the ground for less than two minutes and snapped numerous pine trees.

The Wilcox County tornado traveled for more than 5 miles just southwest of County Road 32 and lifted near CR 30.

The most significant damage occurred along County Road 32 where numerous pine trees were snapped and a mobile home was heavily damaged by a large pine tree.

April 15, 2011 outbreak

One of central Alabama’s largest tornado outbreaks occurred April 15, 2011. A recorded 29 confirmed tornadoes ripped across Central Alabama killing four people and injuring 10.

The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center issued its first tornado watch for central Alabama before 8 a.m.

By 11 a.m., super storm cells began creeping across the state dropping multiple tornadoes.

The first tornado warning in central Alabama was issued at 11:52 a.m. and continued until 12:15 a.m. the next morning. A total of 45 tornado warnings were issued with this outbreak.

When the warnings finally ended, Alabama was on the receiving end of 29 tornadoes.

Of those, four were classed as EF-3 tornadoes with winds reaching up to 150 mph. The longest traveled for more than 10 miles and lasted 20 minutes.

The combined tornado damage path length in central Alabama was 244.23 miles.

During this event, tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

As incredible as this event was, it would be overshadowed 12 days later by the largest tornado outbreak in weather history that would kill 252 people in Alabama.