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F2 tornado in Henry County, Alabama

Tornado November 5, 2002 · Henry County, Alabama

F2
Rating
6.0 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
1
Death
20
Injuries
$3.0M
Damage as recorded
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 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 supercell thunderstorm which spawned the tornado in Dale County, produced another tornado which touched down just west of U.S. Highway 431, and tore through the center of Abbeville. It destroyed several single-family homes and mobile homes, and severely damaged numerous other homes and businesses, including the high school. Uprooted trees and power lines littered city streets, with nearly 2,000 residents without electricity. Twenty people were injured, with a half of those hospitalized. A man died when the tornado destroyed his home on Rock Hill Circle. Henry County was declared a state disaster area. Reported by the Henry County EMA.

Began near Abbeville (31.5667, -85.3000).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5321639. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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