EF1 Tornado — Shelby, Alabama

2025-03-15 · near South Calera, Shelby, Alabama

Event narrative

The tornado began in far northern Chilton County near the county line and moved quickly into Shelby County. It moved through South Calera and northward into downtown Calera, where mostly

tree damage was noted. There were several mobile/manufactured

homes damaged on 13th Street as the tornado paralleled US Highway

31 before crossing Interstate 65, where several campers at a

dealership were rolled and/or tossed. Numerous snapped trees were

noted at this location as well. The tornado made a left turn over

Limestone Parkway and moved north-northwest over a shopping

center just east of the intersection of US 31 and AL Highway 70.

Thereafter, the tornado moved into the cone of silence of the

KBMX RADAR near the O'Neal Quarry office, where many trees were

snapped and uprooted. After speaking with Lhoist quarry

officials, no damage was reported at the quarry, and the end of

the tornado was placed just to the north of Oak Tree Lane, where

a few trees were downed and metal farm buildings sustained minor

roof damage. Maximum winds were estimated to be around 90 mph at

both the mobile home neighborhood and the camper dealership. The total path length of the tornado was 7.47 miles.

Wider weather episode

A significant severe weather event unfolded across Central Alabama on March 15, with 15 tornadoes, several instances of straight-line wind damage, and isolated flooding. An initial round of storms during the early morning brought reports of large hail in Pickens and Walker counties, followed by an afternoon round with several strong, long-track tornadoes. Of the 15 tornadoes, five were rated EF-2 and two were EF-3. Nine of the 15 tornadoes tracked over 10 miles, with the longest path being an EF-2 tornado that traversed 39.48 miles across Tuscaloosa and Walker counties, striking the town of Sipsey. An EF-3 tornado in Plantersville in Dallas County resulted in two fatalities and two injuries, while an EF-2 tornado in Winterboro in Talladega County had one fatality and one injury. The second EF-3 tornado struck Tallapoosa County, reaching peak intensity in Horseshoe Bend National Military Park. Near the end of the event, an EF-2 tornado moved across southern and eastern parts of Troy, with three injuries being documented.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.0690, -86.7590)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1233332. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.