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**Authors**: Madison Wallner<sup>[1]</sup>, Andrew Blackford<sup>[1]</sup>, Udaysankar Nair<sup>[1]</sup>
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<sup>[1]</sup> The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH)
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## Introduction
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## Hackleburg EF-5 Tornado and Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 Tornado Case Studies
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### Hackleburg EF-5 Tornado: MODIS NDVI
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The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) captures a stark decline in vegetation health immediately following the passage of the Hackleburg EF-5 tornado. Along its 132-mile path through rural Northwest Alabama — including heavily forested areas near Hackleburg and Phil Campbell — the tornado’s footprint appears as a thin strip surrounded by otherwise healthy green vegetation. This contrast reflects widespread tree loss and canopy stress caused by extreme wind damage and uprooting. NDVI values dropped sharply in this corridor, clearly outlining the extent of ecological disruption. The MODIS view provides a consistent, large-scale perspective of the storm’s impact on natural systems in Alabama.
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### Hackleburg EF-5 Tornado: GEDI
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Although the GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation) instrument launched in 2019 — seven years after the 2011 Super Outbreak — it still captures lasting signs of vegetation damage from the Hackleburg EF-5 tornado. Along the tornado’s path, GEDI shows where canopy heights remain significantly reduced compared to surrounding forests. In locations that once supported dense tree cover with heights of 25-30 meters, GEDI now records lower canopy heights or complete absence of vertical structure. This persistent loss reflects just how intense and widespread the damage extended. The fact that reduced canopy height is still measurable nearly a decade later underscores the storm’s long-term ecological impact and the slow pace of forest recovery in the region.
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Although the GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation) instrument launched in 2019 — seven years after the 2011 Super Outbreak — it still captures lasting signs of vegetation damage from the Hackleburg EF-5 tornado. Along the tornado’s path, GEDI shows where canopy heights remain significantly reduced compared to surrounding forests. In locations that once supported dense tree cover with heights of 25-30 meters, GEDI now records lower canopy heights or complete absence of vertical structure. This persistent loss reflects just how intense and widespread the damage extended. The fact that reduced canopy height is still measurable nearly a decade later demonstrates the storm’s long-term ecological impact and the slow pace of forest recovery in the region.
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### Hackleburg EF-5 Tornado: NCEI Wind reports
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According to reports from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Storm Events Database, the Hackleburg EF-5 tornado produced catastrophic wind damage across large stretches of rural Northwest Alabama. Wind estimates exceeded 200 mph — strong enough to completely debark trees, uproot mature hardwoods, and snap pines in half. Observers documented “entire forested areas flattened” and noted that large swaths of trees were “stripped bare with nothing but stumps remaining.” These field-level accounts validate the extreme force of the wind speeds and the widespread deforestation along the tornado’s path. When paired with satellite data, these NCEI reports confirm that the observed vegetation loss was consistent with maximum-scale EF-5 wind impacts, leaving behind a transformed and scarred landscape.
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According to reports from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Storm Events Database, the Hackleburg EF-5 tornado produced catastrophic wind damage across large stretches of rural Northwest Alabama. Wind estimates from the tornado itself exceeded 200 mph — strong enough to completely debark trees, uproot mature hardwoods, and snap pines in half. Thunderstorm force winds also reached up to 90 mph in some regions of Alabama. Observers documented “entire forested areas flattened” and noted that large swaths of trees were “stripped bare with nothing but stumps remaining.” These field-level accounts validate the extreme force of the wind speeds and the widespread deforestation along the tornado’s path. When paired with satellite data, these NCEI reports confirm that the observed vegetation loss was consistent with maximum-scale EF-5 wind impacts, leaving behind a transformed and scarred landscape.
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* Reached estimated **peak winds of 190 mph**
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* Caused **64 fatalities** and **injured over 1,500 people**
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* Carved a damage path up to **1.5 miles wide**
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* Ranked as the costliest tornado in U.S. history with $2.4 billion in damages, until the Joplin, Missouri EF-5 tornado occurred later that year
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* Ranked as the costliest tornado in U.S. history with **$2.4 billion in damages**, until the Joplin, Missouri EF-5 tornado occurred later that year
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The NWS DAT track for this tornado traces its full trajectory from Tuscaloosa through the Birmingham metro area. It provides essential spatial context for evaluating vegetation loss, especially through wooded suburbs, city parks, and riparian corridors. The clearly defined track helps identify where trees were uprooted, hillsides were stripped bare, and natural buffers along roads and rivers were destroyed. As with Hackleburg, the DAT tornado path highlights the direct connection between storm damage and the transformation of Alabama’s vegetated landscape.
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### Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 Tornado: NLCD
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The Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 tornado passed through a complex area of land cover types, as defined by the NLCD. In addition to heavily urbanized zones, the tornado also swept across developed open space, woody wetlands, and deciduous forest on the city’s outskirts. Vegetation loss was most significant in these natural and semi-natural areas — especially parks, greenways, and riparian corridors that previously provided tree cover and habitat. The NLCD highlights how the storm’s impact varied across different land cover types: lawns and open fields in urban areas may recover quickly, while forested zones and wetlands continue to show signs of stress. This spatial understanding helps illustrate the uneven ecological recovery still underway more than a decade later.
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The Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 tornado passed through a complex area of land cover types, as defined by the NLCD. In addition to heavily urbanized zones, the tornado also swept across developed open space, woody wetlands, and deciduous forest on the city’s outskirts. Vegetation loss was most significant in these natural and semi-natural areas — especially parks, greenways, and riparian corridors that previously provided tree cover and habitat. The NLCD highlights how the storm’s impact varied across different land cover types: lawns and open fields in urban areas may recover quickly, while forested zones and wetlands continue to show signs of stress. This spatial understanding helps illustrate the uneven ecological recovery still underway.
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### Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 Tornado: MODIS NDVI
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For the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 tornado, MODIS NDVI reveals a broad swath of vegetation stress extending from the outskirts of Tuscaloosa into rural and wooded areas northeast of the city. While much of the tornado’s devastation occurred in urban neighborhoods, NDVI is especially effective at highlighting damage to the surrounding greenbelt where hillsides, parks, and forested buffers were stripped. In these areas, NDVI values dropped dramatically, indicating significant vegetation loss and stress.
For the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 tornado, NCEI reports highlight the devastating wind impacts not only on structures, but also on natural vegetation. With wind speeds estimated near 190 mph, the tornado shredded trees, destroyed green buffers along major roadways, and left parks and wooded corridors strewn with debris. In some cases, wind-driven projectiles and flying branches caused secondary vegetation damage, compounding the initial deforestation. Witness accounts describe tree trunks snapped like matchsticks and entire hillsides stripped of their canopy. These narrative details help validate the satellite-observed damage and emphasize that vegetation loss was not incidental, but rather a defining characteristic of the storm’s passage through both urban and natural areas.
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For the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 tornado, NCEI reports highlight the devastating wind impacts not only on structures, but also on natural vegetation. With wind speeds estimated near 190 mph, the tornado shredded trees, destroyed green buffers along major roadways, and left parks and wooded corridors strewn with debris. In some cases, wind-driven projectiles and flying branches caused secondary vegetation damage, compounding the initial deforestation. Thunderstorm force winds also reached up to 90 mph in some regions of Alabama too. Witness accounts describe tree trunks snapped like matchsticks and entire hillsides stripped of their canopy. These narrative details help validate the satellite-observed damage and emphasize that vegetation loss was not incidental, but rather a defining characteristic of the storm’s passage through both urban and natural areas.
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