EF3 Tornado — Dallas, Alabama

2025-03-15 · near Plantersville, Dallas, Alabama

Event narrative

The tornado formed and intensified quickly about two miles south

of Plantersville along County Road 63, uprooting swaths of trees

right from the start. The tornado travelled northward into

Plantersville and intensified to its maximum intensity of a

140 MPH EF3 tornado in the south end of town, where trees across

the entire area were uprooted, snapped, and even debarked.

Several homes and businesses were destroyed, which unfortunately

resulted in two fatalities and two injuries. The tornado began a

more northeasterly trajectory as it left Plantersville, but still

remained strong as it crossed into Autauga County.

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 → (32.5971, -86.9377)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1233335. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.