James Scott, 19, pauses while picking through the remains of his home, which was destroyed by a tornado, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Fultondale, Ala. Scott, who survived with his mother and sister, had never lived anywhere else and isn't sure where he will wind up after the storm.

Monday’s unseasonably strong storms didn’t leave the Cullman area much worse for wear, even as they devastated part of the Fultondale community less than an hour to the south.

An evening tornado ripped through the north Jefferson County city late Monday, claiming the life of a 14 year-old boy and sending approximately 30 people — some with critical injuries — to area hospitals. Spared from flooding and storm damage back in Cullman County, Hanceville mayor Kenneth Nail volunteered the services of his city’s street personnel on Tuesday morning to help Fultondale begin picking up the pieces.

“We know what it’s like to be in that situation in Hanceville,” said Nail. “I contacted the mayor, who understandably had his hands full, and then later got through to city hall, and they told us, ‘Yes — we could really use your help.’”

Hanceville sent a pair of brush trucks and five workers south to help its U.S. Highway 31 neighbor to the south clear the streets of debris left in the wake of the tornado. The National Weather Service said Tuesday that the twister was an EF-3 tornado with winds of 150 miles per hour. The brunt of the tornado damage fell along a northeast-moving track north of Walker Chapel Road to Highway 31, with damage extended eastward as far as New Castle Road.

Cullman Emergency Management Agency director Phyllis Little said Tuesday that there had been no reports of flood or wind damage in Cullman County from the evening storms.

“We watched everything really closely and were here at the office until a little after midnight,” she said. “Our area was under a tornado watch, so we had the community shelters open, and remained up here just waiting to see if we were going to see any damage or needed to coordinate a response. Thankfully, it came and went without any reports of damage.”

The Cullman Elks Lodge is helping mobilize a disaster response to assist Fultondale. The lodge will begin accepting donated food and meal supplies today from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m.

Lodge volunteers are requesting items including water, Gatorade, hamburger meat, hot dogs, buns, condiments, chips, paper lunch bags, napkins, paper towels, zip lock bags, candy bars, granola bars, coffee cups with lids, hand and foot warmers, toboggans, work gloves, and money.

The lodge will send a travel disaster team to Fultondale to help cook for emergency responders and cleanup crews.