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F2 tornado in Dale County, Alabama

Tornado December 16, 2000 · Dale County, Alabama

F2
Rating
29.0 mi
Whole path
300 yd
Path width
$5.0M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Houston County → Dale County → Henry 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.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The F0 tornado moved northeast from extreme western Houston County into southeast Dale County. It rapidly intensified to an F2 tornado as it continued its intermittent track into the eastern portion of the county. A Midland City church annex lost parts of its roof and walls. Several homes in the Doe Run Subdivision south of Pinckard were destroyed and numerous others were damaged. In Pinckard, numerous trees and power lines were down. Many homes and businesses were damaged, some seriously. The tornado tracked northeast into western Henry County. Reported by the Dale County EMA.

Began near Pinckard (31.2667, -85.6167).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5168218. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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