The Devastating 3 March 2019 Beauregard, Alabama, Tornado

On March 3rd, 2019 a severe weather outbreak across the southern United States resulted in 40 tornadoes. The most notable of the tornadoes was a long-track violent tornado that resulted in 23 fatalities and nearly 100 injuries, primarily in the Beauregard community in Lee County, Alabama. This was the largest death toll from a single tornado in the United States in nearly 6 years, and the first EF-4 tornado to hit the country since April 2017.

Although Alabama is no stranger to severe weather, before March 3rd, it had been almost 8 years since a violent tornado had struck central Alabama and over 100 years since such a violent tornado had impacted this part of the state. This presentation will review the meteorological conditions and setup leading to the rapid evolution of this violent tornado. In addition, we will explore some of the unique societal communication aspects, including the rural nature of the area impacted, that made this event rather challenging. A discussion of the IDSS to core partners leading up to the event along with the unique Warning Decision Making challenges will be provided.