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EF1 tornado in Shelby County, Alabama

Tornado March 15, 2025 · Shelby County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
2.5 mi
Path length
150 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

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.

The wider storm

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.

Began near South Newala (33.0875, -86.8291).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

14 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1233333. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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