page_title: Late December 2012 North American storm complex
section_title: Mobile, Alabama
hierarchical_section_title: Late December 2012 North American storm complex / Confirmed tornadoes / Mobile, Alabama
caption_attribution_description: English: Aftermath of the Christmas Day tornado on South Rickarby Place in Mobile, Alabama. Trinity Episcopal Church is in the background.
context_page_description: Near the end of 2012, a massive storm complex developed that produced both a tornado outbreak and a blizzard across the southern and eastern United States. On Christmas Day 2012, a tornado outbreak occurred across Southern United States. This severe weather/tornado event affected the United States Gulf Coast and southern East Coast over a two-day span. It occurred in conjunction with a much larger winter storm event that brought blizzard conditions to much of the interior United States. In total, 31 tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in five states from Texas to North Carolina. All but one of the tornadoes that occurred during the outbreak touched down on December 25, with the other occurring the following day in North Carolina. Two of the tornadoes were destructive enough to be rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. At least 16 people died as a result of the related blizzard, and thousands were without power.
  There were 63 preliminary local storm reports received for tornadoes, including 60 in four states on December 25 alone.
context_section_description: This large wedge tornado was caught on television tower cameras as it moved through Mobile. The tornado initially touched down at 2254 UTC (4:54 p.m. CST) along Dauphin Island Parkway, just northwest of Interstate 10 and produced damage consistent with an EF1 tornado. Several commercial retailers and numerous homes were damaged, including loss of roof at many of these structures. Several outbuildings were destroyed, numerous structures had windows blown out, and Murphy High School sustained significant damage. Damage at the high school included six portable classrooms being leveled, the roofs being torn off of the auditorium and band building, and other roofs on the school being lifted off the building, only to be deposited back onto the building. The tornado continued northward and strengthened, producing EF2 damage to several homes and Trinity Episcopal Church. Wind speeds were estimated to reach a maximum of 135 mph. At the church, part of a new slate roof was blown into the parking lot and a large portion of an exterior brick wall was knocked out, leaving a portion of the building visible from the outside. The tornado widened to its widest point of 200 yards (180 m) in this area.
  The tornado then weakened slightly (to high-end EF1/weak EF2), damaged several more homes, and blew windows at Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, a hospital of more than 500 beds. Automobiles in the parking lot at the hospital were damaged, with one being flipped. It continued across Interstate 165 and into Prichard, where it produced roof damage to several homes and later dissipated. It also tossed several shipping containers and damaged a warehouse facility before it lifted. Many trees and power lines were downed along the path, which totaled 5.7 miles (9.2 km). Several people suffered minor injuries. While only existing for eleven minutes, damage estimates to the cities of Mobile and Prichard totaled out at $1.35 million.
  A tornado emergency was declared for areas of Downtown Mobile at 2300 UTC (5:00 p.m. CST) as the tornado approached those areas, stating Midtown Mobile, Downtown Mobile, and Prichard, Alabama as potentially affected areas. The tornado followed a path just east of the weaker December 20 tornado, which also impacted Mobile.
caption: Damage in on South Carlen Street in Mobile, Alabama, caused by an EF2 tornado.
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