Posted on Sun, May. 11, 2008

BIRMINGHAM -- Central Alabama braced for stormy weather Saturday night as several counties recover from tornadoes that packed winds of up to 125 mph.

A National Weather Service survey team found evidence of an EF2 tornado from Leighton in Colbert County to Rogersville in Lauderdale County. A surveillance camera at an equipment company caught footage of that tornado Thursday tossing at least two cars nearly 40 feet.

Forecasters warned Saturday night's storm could include damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes, with a severe weather threat possible through noon today in central Alabama. The greatest threat area will be east of the Interstate 65 corridor, the NWS said.

The strongest winds Thursday were in a twister that left a 9.6-mile path of destruction from Leighton to Rogersville, said NWS senior forecaster Dave Nadler in Huntsville. The path was 250 yards wide in some sections.

At least two homes were destroyed in Lauderdale and one was destroyed in Lawrence. At least 10 homes in Colbert, Lauderdale and Lawrence were damaged in the twisters. Two people with cuts and bruises from the west Lauderdale storm were the only injuries reported.

Mike Melton, director of the Colbert County Emergency Management Agency, said the damage and injury toll could have been more severe.

"We were lucky that a lot of the places struck were woods or fields. It came close to a lot of houses, but just barely missed them," he told the TimesDaily in Florence.

A survey team also investigated damage in Fayette, Walker and Winston counties and found an EF1 tornado had touched down near the Bazemore community in Fayette County. That tornado caused more damage in the Kansas community in Walker County.

Tornadoes are ranked from 0 to 5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with 5 being the most destructive.