Priceville man dies in storm-Deadly force caused by trees falling on mobile home, EF-1 tornado blamed

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
A storm cell producing 100 mph wind gusts, scattered hail and heavy rain touched down north of Hartselle Sunday night killing one man, uprooting numerous trees and causing widespread property damage.
Robert “Jay” Irwin, a 63-year-old Vietnam veteran, was killed when two large trees fell on the roof of his mobile home at 532 South Bethel Road, about two miles north of the Hartselle city limits.
Irwin’s son, Robert Jason, 23, was in the back bedroom of the mobile home when the storm hit at about 7 p.m. but he escaped unhurt.
The trunk of one of the uprooted trees fell on top of Irwin and crushed him, according to Les Irwin, an older brother who lives in a mobile home next door.
The storm, which was identified by the U.S. Weather Services as an EF-1 tornado, cut a path of damage 200 to 300 feet wide from near Moulton in Lawrence County to Guntersville in Marshall County.
A woman’s death near Guntersville was also attributed to the tornado and extensive property damage occurred south of Moulton and in the Shoal Creek community near Priceville.
The Wes Watson family at 501 Shoal Creek Road survived a close call when three trees fell on the roof of their home. All five members of the family were home and found refuge in a hallway closet when the tornado passed.
Several of their neighbors also reported wind and tree damage to their property.