A wave of thunderstorms and straight-line winds tore across central Alabama in the early morning hours of February 16. Tornado watches were issued for 32 counties in the state hours earlier. An F1 tornado made landfall in Perry and Hale Counties, respectively. Both counties appear to have taken significant damage from the storm than any other county in the state. Winds up to 70 mph caused significant damage in all affected areas. As of Sunday morning, nearly 200,000 homes statewide were without power. Alabama Power had crews working roundthe- clock, including an additional 1,200 linemen, to restore power. Since 2019, Alabama Power has been using a smart technology program called Fault Isolation and Service Restoration (FIRS) to reduce the amount of power outages. This outage prevention system works to quickly identify and isolate the problem, redirecting power and restoring service faster than before.
