Weaver saw mini-twister in March 19 storms

April 06--WEAVER -- As Rhonda Norton and her son took cover in a hallway on the night of March 19, they had no doubt that a tornado was passing overhead.

"I didn't hear that freight-train sound," she said. "It sounded like a bunch of bombs hitting the house, I think because of the hail."

Norton and other residents of Weaver and Saks may have felt vindicated Thursday, when the National Weather Service declared that the area was indeed hit by a twister in the March 19 tornado outbreak.

Jacksonville was hit worst in the March 19 storms, with four people injured and more than 500 buildings in the college town damaged. That storm was rated and EF-3, with 150 mph winds.

After re-visiting the county this week, Weather Service officials determined that Weaver was hit, too, with an EF-0 twister that likely touched down near Fink's Lake by Saks Road and headed east toward Cane Creek Road, where Norton lives. The tornado was on the ground for about eight-tenths of a mile and had winds of 65 mph.

"It did appear to be a very weak tornado," said Jason Holmes, a forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Calera, who was on the team that surveyed the tornado track.

Damage in the area appears to be light. An RV on Cane Creek road still sits on its back, flipped over and partly crushed by the wind. Around Finks Lake, houses are missing shingles. The weather service report cites damage to a boat dock on the lake.

To a passerby, the only evidence of damage at Norton's house is the large pile of trunks and limbs by the curb. In the back, however, is a sight familiar to many Jacksonville residents: an all-dirt yard with a prominent tree stump. Before March 19, there was grass here, a large oak and a shed containing riding lawnmowers. The storm destroyed the tree and shed and ripped up the yard. The lawnmowers remain.

Holmes said the tornado declaration will likely help homeowners in their dealings with insurance companies. It's easier to get coverage for storm damage when there's clear evidence of a tornado, he said.

Damage from the Fink's Lake twister isn't likely to help the county get past the threshold needed for a federal disaster declaration.

Local officials for weeks have dealt with the conundrum of federal limits for disaster assistance. If they document more than $7 million in damage statewide, the federal government will likely declare a disaster and pay most of the recovery costs. If they fall short, local governments will pick up the tab alone.

"The damage from this was minimal," said Jonathan Gaddy, director of the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency, referring to the Weaver tornado. He said the EMA was among those who encouraged the Weather Service to look closely for damage in Weaver -- one of four sites where forecasters spotted rotations over Calhoun County on March 19. (The other rotations, Gaddy said, were the Southside tornado, the Jacksonville tornado and a rotation that trailed behind the Jacksonville tornado.)

The weather service earlier this week posted an advisory noting a slight risk of strong storms in Calhoun and surrounding counties for Friday night and early Saturday morning. The latest forecast moves that storm system south, with Calhoun County seeing a high chance of rain overnight but no severe weather.

Capitol & statewide reporter Tim Lockette: 256-294-4193. On Twitter @TLockette_Star.

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