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F1 tornado in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama

Tornado September 25, 2005 · Tuscaloosa County, Alabama

F1
Rating
6.7 mi
Path length
150 yd
Path width
2
Injuries
$250K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 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 second tornado that affected the Buhl community within an hour touched down at approximately 405 PM CDT. The tornado began just east of County Road 19 near Cornelius Church Road. The tornado traveled northeast and produced significant damage in the Buhl community. Three mobile homes were totally destroyed, two mobile homes suffered major damage, and at least 4 others sustained minor damage on McAllister Road. Two male occupants of a mobile home were injured when the high winds demolished the home. One man was hospitalized. The tornado continued northeastward and crossed County Road 140, US Highway 82 and County Road 21. Several more structures sustained minor roof damage along the path. Additionally, numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted. The tornado snapped off several trees along the northwest side of Lake Lurleen before lifting just north of the lake around 417 PM CDT. This was the same parent thunderstorm that produced the brief tornado near the Tuscaloosa Greene county line. Local media outlets captured this tornado on video. The tornado has been rated an F1 on the Fujita scale. The tornado damage path was 6.7 miles long and 150 yards wide at its widest point. This tornado was produced by the remnants of Hurricane Rita. Begin: 33 14.35/87 45.11 End: 33 18.80/87 40.77

Began near Buhl (33.2333, -87.7667).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5473015. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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