The National Weather Service rated a tornado that ripped through DeKalb County Wednesday afternoon as an EF-4, according to preliminary surveys.
And NWF forecasters believe that rating could be raised to an EF-5 – the highest on the Enhanced Fujita Scale – once surveys are complete.
"It was considered a violent tornado," said NWS meteorologist Robert Boyd.
The tornado that, according to Rainsville Fire Chief Thomas Ridgeway, killed 37 people in DeKalb County and injured hundreds, had 170 mph winds and was 1/2-mile wide at its strongest, according to preliminary NWS surveys. Boyd said the tornado started about 50 yards wide and got wider as it gathered strength and moved northeast.
Boyd said the path was 16 miles, starting in Lakeview just northeast of Geraldine and continuing through Fyffe, Rainsville and Sylvania. He said damage has been reported further northeast near Ider and Henagar, but surveys are not complete.
NWS surveyors spent Friday collecting data to complete the tornado survey, and Boyd said that information should be available sometime today.
Boyd said the tornado followed a path parallel and just east of Highway 75. The twister left significant damage to DeKalb Schools Coliseum and destroyed businesses that included the Huddle House and others in Rainsville.
On Thursday in an emergency Rainsville City Council meeting, Councilman Bejan Taheri said an estimated 120-140 homes were destroyed in Rainsville.
"Damage [in Rainsville] included houses that were completely removed from foundations, and a lot of debris was scattered for about a mile," Boyd said. "Some mobile homes were completely destroyed and debris was carried for as much as a mile."
He said similar damage was found in and near Sylvania.
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