EF1 Tornado — Houston, Alabama

2025-03-31 · near Dothan, Houston, Alabama

Event narrative

A tornado touched down in Dothan, AL and produced EF-1 damage along its entire length. The maximum winds were estimated to be 105 mph. The tornado initially touched down near Rimson Rd. and then travelled east northeast along Southland Dr. Damage began to become less scattered as the tornado crossed South Bell Dr., continuing to snap and uproot trees, a few of which fell on homes. The tornado then entered a business district where it did substantial damage to the Dothan Preparatory Academy. Several sections of the roof were removed and several windows were broken. Unfortunately, a few students suffered minor injuries when a portion of the gymnasium s roof was removed. Some of the roof was found blocks away. The tornado was at its widest after crossing U.S. 231. Several small businesses and a warehouse had windows blown out and sections of their roofs removed. There were also several power poles snapped in this vicinity. The tornado then proceeded east northeast through residential neighborhoods, snapping and uprooting trees. Once again, some fell on houses and one crushed a car. The track went down Chalker St. and then along or north of East Selma St. The tornado damaged the roof of a doctor s office on Haven Dr. and then uprooted a few trees before lifting just shy of Southeast Alabama Medical Center.

Wider weather episode

A strong spring cold front moved through the area with strong to severe storms ahead of it. Damaging winds gusts and a couple of tornadoes occurred across the tri-state region.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.2068, -85.4184)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1244143. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.