A tornado tore through parts of Jefferson County, Alabama, on Thursday, toppling trees, pounding neighborhoods with large hail and leaving several homes badly damaged. First Coast News meteorologists Lewis Turner and Robert Speta walked viewers through the damage video on Weather Watchers Worldwide Live, using the fresh footage to break down how the storm spun up and why it intensified. That same storm system is now sliding southeast and could clip the First Coast over the next day with pockets of heavy rain and gusty showers.
Pinson And Trussville Take The Hardest Hit
Local crews and reporters found the worst of the destruction in and around Pinson and in neighborhoods near Trussville, where officials said roughly 14 homes were heavily damaged and 22 residents were displaced after trees and power lines crashed down onto houses. Emergency personnel shut down Bud Holmes Road overnight while utility crews battled live wires and piles of debris in the dark. Those on the ground counts and video from central Jefferson County were detailed by WVTM 13.
Official Surveys And Storm Reports
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado damaged areas just southwest of Trussville and logged reports of very large hail, with stones measured up to 2 inches in diameter in St. Clair County, as survey teams geared up for formal storm inspections. Social media video and early reports showed a funnel near Highway 11 and damage along Roosevelt Boulevard and Mary Taylor Road, which prompted NWS crews to plan on site visits. FOX Weather summarized the NWS updates, and the NWS Birmingham office posts official storm surveys and preliminary tornado data online.
First Coast Forecast And Local Implications
On First Coast News’ Weather Watchers Worldwide Live, Chief Meteorologist Lewis Turner and meteorologist Robert Speta used the Alabama damage as a real time case study, then traced the line of storms toward northeast Florida, where the impacts are expected to be mainly scattered showers, localized heavy downpours and gusty inland winds. Turner said the primary severe threat had shifted east but warned that pockets of heavy rain could still make for slick, hazardous driving on soaked roads. The segment and local forecast were presented by First Coast News…