Thunderstorm Wind in St. Clair County, Alabama

A strong wind gust with a thunderstorm collapsed a boat house under construction killing three people and injuring four others who had sought shelter. Eight people boating on Neely Henry Lake sought shelter in a partially completed boat house on the St. Clair shore of the lake. The people were injured and killed when the boat house roof collapsed during the wind gust. (F29O, F06O, M04O)

Storm damage to the east of Moody was found to be consistent with straight-line winds, with peak wind gusts estimated between 80 and 100 mph. A broad swath of enhanced damage was found in a largely wooded area a couple miles northeast of the Brompton community. In this area, numerous trees were snapped off and uprooted. One tree fell onto a mobile home, fatally injuring one of its occupants. Several other buildings received varying degrees of damage, both directly from the wind and as a result of trees being blown on top of them.

Storm damage in and around the cities of Pell City and Riverside was found to be consistent with straight-line winds, with peak wind gusts estimated between 80 and 100 mph. There was a diffuse and intermittent, yet discernible, swath of wind damage that extended from just west of the St. Clair County Courthouse, northeastward across Pell City, Industrial Park Drive, Interstate 20, and through Riverside. Additional isolated wind damage was noted to the south and east of this main damage swath. The most significant damage across the area were several large trees that were uprooted, causing damage to homes and structures. One fatality was caused when a large oak tree was uprooted and fell on a manufactured home. Two metal buildings received direct damage from the winds; the damage on both of these buildings appears to have been associated with the failure of large doors. Dozens of homes in the area received minor roof damage as well.