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EF1 tornado in Cullman County, Alabama

Tornado May 22, 2026 · Cullman County, Alabama

EF1
Rating
8.7 mi
Path length
300 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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

The tornado touched down just north of U.S. Highway 278 and west of Holly Pond near the intersection of County Roads 1650 and 1682. There, it quickly assumed EF1 status, uprooting a hardwood tree, and causing door damage to small farm outbuildings nearby. The tornado tracked generally northeastward, uprooting and snapping large hardwood trees along County Road 1683. Farther northeast, near the intersection of County Roads 1709, 1710, and 1711, multiple hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted, and in a small neighborhood there, a house experienced roof damage. The tornado continued to track generally northeastward across a mix of open farmland and woodland, with snapped and uprooted hardwood trees again observed along County Road 1716. To the northeast in the Brooklyn community, the tornado uprooted and snapped hardwood trees along County Road 1684, and minor roof damage occurred to a single family dwelling. There were also two cattle deaths due to tree falls off of County Road 1684. The tornado crossed northward on the east side of Brooklyn, and headed farther northeast to the east side of Baileyton, where it occasionally snapped and uprooted hardwood trees along the way. Just to the northeast of Baileyton along County Road 1762, the tornado caused tree damage, with one large tree falling on and damaging a truck. Roof damage also occurred to a nearby house. Farther northeast along County Road 1763, the tornado uprooted hardwood and softwood trees, pushed a mobile home off its foundation, and caused significant roof damage to the dwelling. The tornado began curving slightly westward as it neared the intersections of Highway 67 and 69, causing sporadic tree damage along the way and also along Apple Grove Road. The tornado then tracked north-northwestward, ending on County Road 1589 just west of Highway 67.

The wider storm

A series of mini-supercells developed during the late morning into the early afternoon hours. One of the thunderstorms produced a tornado in northeast Cullman County. Repetitive rainfall caused excessive rainfall and flash flooding across parts of Cullman County.

Began near Holly Pond (34.1812, -86.6446).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1336731. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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