F4 Tornado — Limestone, Alabama

1995-05-18 · near Limestone, Limestone, Alabama

Event narrative

A supercell thunderstorm produced a violent tornado that began 3 miles northwest of Athens in Limestone County and moved on a path just slightly north of east completely across Madison County before ending in northwestern Jackson County about 15 miles northwest of Scottsboro. The tornado path varied from very narrow at the beginning and end to about three-quarters of a mile wide at the widest location in Madison County. Intensity varied from F0 intensity near both ends of the track to F4 at the strongest in several locations in Madison County. Damage along the track was primarily in the F2 and F3 category. Evidence in the damage as seen through an aerial survey indicated that the tornado was probably a multiple vortex with indications of at least two vortices within the main tornado funnel. The tornado began at 1633 CST in Limestone County crossing Interstate 65 and Highway 251 where the mobile home park was destroyed. It reached the Limestone/Madison county line at 1650 CST. The trek across Madison County saw the tornado move near the communities of Harvest, Meridianville, Buckhorn, and Fannings Crossing before moving into the rugged terrain of eastern Madison County. The tornado crossed the Madison/Jackson county line at 1721 CST. The tornado track was much weaker in Jackson County as it moved through rugged terrain affecting very few structures. The track ended about 15 miles northwest of Scottsboro or a few miles west of the community of Hytop. Damage was the heaviest at a mobile home park about three miles northeast of Athens along Highway 251. The only fatality that occurred in this tornado occurred at this mobile home park, and the person died later from injuries received in the tornado. Twenty-six mobile homes were destroyed in Limestone County, 13 in the Oakdale Mobile Home Park. Another 35 buildings were damaged or destroyed in Limestone County where damage was estimated to be $1.5 million. About 9,500 electric customers were without electricity. A cow was also killed when a large tree fell on and crushed it. Another especially hard hit area was Anderson Hills subdivision in Madison County with houses ranging in price from $175,000 to $400,000. This area of well-constructed dwellings was one of the locations where F4 damage was evident as well as indications of a multiple vortex structure. In Anderson Hills, 21 houses were destroyed and 39 sustained major damage. Damage across the rest of Madison County was less concentrated than in this one subdivision. Over 10,000 Huntsville Utility Company customers were without power. M30M

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.8300, -87.0300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 10314318. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.