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F2 tornado in Jefferson County, Alabama

Tornado April 3, 2000 · Jefferson County, Alabama

F2
Rating
11.1 mi
Whole path
300 yd
Path width
$90K
Damage as recorded

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

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 F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

The wider storm

The tornado began at the intersection of CR 59 and CR 54 near the town of Kellerman. The tornado traveled in a northeast direction for approximately 11.1 miles. The tornado crossed the Tuscaloosa and Jefferson county line about 2 miles southeast of County Road 59, near Bull City, and dissipated about 2 miles southwest of Oak Grove. The damage path was about 300 yards wide at its widest point. One frame house and a church received mainly roof damage in the town of Kellerman. The path was very rural, and most of the damage was from downed and snapped trees. The terrain was hilly, with most of the downed trees located in the valleys. About one mile inside the Jefferson County line, a brick house sustained major damage, and two mobile homes were overturned. Segment 1: Beginning: 33 19.860/87 19.276 Ending: 33 23.086/87 13.918 Segment 2: Beginning: 33 23.086/87 13.918 Ending: 33 25.513/87 09.892

Began near Oak Grove (33.3833, -87.2333).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5139233. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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