Here's what we know: Preliminary survey indicates EF-2 Tornado slammed Fultondale According to a preliminary investigation, the National Weather Service in Birmingham has designated the tornado that devastated the Birmingham suburb as a "High-End EF-2 Tornado." The storm whipped up winds around 135 mph, according to the NWS. 'Like a bomb had been dropped' Melvin Weldon was just about asleep with his wife when the tornado sirens triggered near his Lykes Boulevard home northeast of Fultondale. "We went to turn the TV on to find out where the tornado warnings were or what was going on. then we heard that noise," Weldon said. "We went downstairs, got our son down the stairs and about time we got to the bottom of the stairs is when it hit."