Two tornadoes confirmed to have touched down on New Year’s Day, experts say

Published 4:25 pm Monday, January 3, 2022

Two small tornadoes caused the damage that left parts of two north Alabama counties littered with storm debris on New Year’s Day, forecasters said.

An EF-0 twister with maximum winds of 85 mph (136.79 kph) touched down near Hazel Green on Saturday evening, damaging several businesses, peeling the roof off a mobile home and splintering trees in Madison County, according to an assessment from the National Weather Service office in Huntsville.

A second tornado with maximum winds of 80 mph (128.75 kph) started in Limestone County and ended near Triana in Madison County, damaging dozens of homes and uprooting trees, forecasters said.

No serious injuries were reported from either tornado. The storms followed a system earlier Saturday which brought flooding and tornadoes to parts of Kentucky.