Local

Alabama tornado blows billboard 20 miles away into Georgia

NewsChopper 2 flew to east Alabama and west Georgia, which were some of the hardest hit areas during a tornado outbreak on March 3, 2019. 

The incredible power of the tornado that destroyed much of Lee County, Alabama on Sunday is evident after a billboard was found more than 20 miles away in Georgia.

In a Facebook post, the Lee County Flea Market said one of its billboards at the Buckwild Saloon landed across state lines in Georgia. And the most impressive part was that it was fully intact.

"Our sign on the billboard located at Buckwild Saloon landed in tact in Hamilton, Georgia in a friends yard," the post read.

The post was shared around 2,000 times.

I can't imagine how a sign this big could travel 20 miles during a terrible storm...slightly tattered and land on our...

Posted by Sharon Bruce Treadway Smith on Sunday, March 3, 2019

People commented saying they had similar expriences in the past.

[RELATED: 'The devastation is incredible': Tornadoes kill 23 in Alabama, damage homes in Georgia]

"We had a piece of a large mattress from the 2011 Birmingham tornado outbreak settle in the top of a tall pine tree in LaGrange Ga. Its incredible the uplift winds these storms contain," said Victoria Hester.

[PHOTOS: Widespread damage in Talbot County after tornado rips through]

So far, preliminary reports from survey crews with the National Weather Service show more than a dozen tornadoes touched down Sunday. Here's the full list:

  • EF-1 tornado in Macon County, AL
  • EF-2 tornado in Leon County, FL
  • At least EF-2 damage in Talbot and Harris counties
  • EF-2 tornado in Ellerslie, GA (may be same tornado as above)
  • EF-2 tornado in Cairo, GA
  • EF-2 tornado in Crawford County, GA (became EF-1 tornado in Peach County, GA)
  • EF-4 tornado in Lee County, AL
  • EF-1 tornado in Pine Mountain, GA
  • EF-1 tornado in Twiggs County, GA
  • Tornado in Washington County, AL
  • EF-1 tornado in Davisboro, GA
  • EF-1 tornado in Washington County, GA
  • EF-2 tornado in Barbour County, AL
  • At least EF-1 tornado in Eufala, AL
0