EF0 tornado causes minor damage in Berry Thursday

By WVUA 23 News Reporter Ryan Gillin

Strong winds and heavy rain moved through parts of Central Alabama Thursday evening. The National Weather Service confirmed Friday that an EF0 tornado touched down in Fayette County’s Berry and Boley Springs.

Most of the damage was limited to downed trees and power lines, and no one was injured.

Resident Chad Bruggemann said he’s thankful he and his family are OK after the storm.

“It started raining a little bit and then it started lightning,” he said. “I mean it was — boom, it was here on us. It was one of the scariest things that you can go through. Here and gone, but we all made it.”

When Lonnie Gant got the tornado warning, he said he and his family retreated to a family member’s basement.

“When we were watching the weather station, they issued a second tornado on the ground,” Gant said. “I told my wife, ‘Get your clothes on, we’re going to mother’s basement.’ Told her to hurry because it’s going to be here in five minutes. It was here in about seven minutes. So it’s very important for people to listen to those warnings.”