Home / Alabama / Houston

EF1 tornado in Houston County, Alabama

Tornado May 25, 2026 · Houston County, Alabama

EF1

Rating

11.1 mi

Whole path

200 yd

Path width

$550K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Houston County → Henry County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 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 initially touched down just north of U.S. 84 near Cowarts in Houston County, damaging trees and outbuildings. A pool screen was damaged at a home along Omussee Road, with additional tree and minor damage to homes. The tornado damaged the WDHN television station as it crossed Highway 52, breaking windows and damaging the roof. The tornado continued north-northeast downing trees and causing minor structural damage before moving into Henry County at County Road 22 and Buckhead Drive. The most severe damage was along County Road 15 where two homes were heavily damage. One home was destroyed. This home separated from the concrete foundation, slid, and then collapsed. The damage is consistent with an EF1 tornado with maximum winds of approximately 105 mph.

The wider storm

Scattered thunderstorms occurred ahead of a frontal boundary on May 22-25. However, on May 25, a mesoscale convective system developed west of the area and enhanced the low level wind field. This resulted in two tornadoes across the tri-state area. One tornado affected the Villa Tasso area in Walton county in Florida, and the other tornado affected Houston and Henry counties in Alabama. Both tornadoes were rated EF1.

Began near Cowarts (31.2032, -85.3187).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1338482. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.