Weather officials upgrade Rainsville tornado to EF-5

Published 2:04 pm Saturday, August 2, 2014

RAINSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — The National Weather Service has upgraded the category of one devastating tornado that passed through DeKalb County on April 27.

Email newsletter signup

According to the NWS, additional information gathered during a June 15 ground survey led to one tornado being upgraded to an EF-5.

According to the NWS, a total of six tornadoes tore through DeKalb County on April 27.

The newly-rated EF-5 tornado is reported to have been on the ground for 33.8 miles or 37 minutes, at a width of ¾ mile and an estimated wind peak of 200 mph, destroying numerous homes, leveling them to their foundations, and vehicles and debris strewn for hundreds of feet.