EF1 Tornado — Shelby, Alabama

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

Event narrative

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage

associated with a tornado in southern Shelby County around

8:00 PM on March 15, 2025. The tornado began near Highway 19 and

quickly intensified as it crossed Highway 25, reaching a maximum

intensity of 90 mph as it crossed Lawler Drive. Several trees

were snapped or uprooted along the path. The tornado continued

northward eventually ending along Spring Creek Road around

8:06 PM.

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 → (33.0875, -86.8291)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1233333. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.