Strong East Alabama storms include a confirmed tornado

Strong thunderstorms that rolled through east Alabama and into west-central Georgia Saturday included a lower-end tornado to go along with the plentiful thunder and lightning.

The National Weather Service in Birmingham, Ala., tweeted Sunday afternoon that the twister spotted in the Lee County city of Opelika was an EF0-rated tornado with winds possibly up to 85 mph. It apparently formed on the city’s east side before moving south.

The Enhanced Fujita tornado scale ranges from EFO to EF5, with damage worsening as wind speeds rise to the top end of more than 200 mph.

Various media reports indicate damage in the Chattahoochee Valley region included downed trees and some power outages as the thunderstorms moved through east Alabama and into Georgia along a line from LaGrange, Ga., and into Lee County and western Russell County. There were reports of hail and very heavy rains during the storms.

As of late Sunday afternoon, fewer than 200 Alabama Power customers were without electricity in the area, according to the website, PowerOutage.US. The general path of the thunderstorm clusters in the region Saturday was south and east.

The National Weather Service forecasts that thunderstorms will be possible throughout the coming week in the area, ranging from a chance of 30 percent to 70 percent.

This story was originally published July 22, 2018 at 5:11 PM.