F2 Tornado — Tuscaloosa, Alabama

1997-01-24 · near Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Wider weather episode

At approximately 5:00 pm CST, a tornado began on the east side of the Warrior River, south of Interstate 59 and west of County Road 95. Besides trees, the initial damage was to shingles of an apartment complex in the Crabtree area.The tornado moved on a northeasterly track crossing U.S. 82 and Interstate 59. Two large businesses in a shopping center on the south side of I-59 sustained roof damage.The tornado became stronger after crossing I-59 with significantly greater damage from this point to the end of the path. Numerous trees were downed, some house roofs were damage, and several outbuildings were destroyed in the Woodland Hills residential area.Several buildings were damaged at Five Points East, the intersection of State Roads 215 and 216, including a Food World and a Big-B Drug Store, among others. Cars were tossed about like toys. One was tossed from the parking lot through the roof of the Food World. Another car was carried from the Food World parking lot into the backyard of a house immediately northeast of the Food World, a distance of between 300 and 400 feet.The tornado continued northeast through the Lynn Haven residential area causing significant damage to numerous homes, much of it strong F2 damage. Many houses in this section sustained damage that ranged from minor roof damage to total roof loss.The tornado continued across Tuscaloosa Memorial Gardens Cemetary, paralleling and crossing State Road 216. Six to eight homes in the Summerfield sub-division sustained light to moderate damage. A couple of mobile homes and several other buildings including a small corner grocery business were destroyed. The tornado dissipated in a wooded area just north of State Road 216 shortly after that around 5:15 pm CST.Tuscaloosa EMA estimated that there were 150 structures with some damage. Total tornado path length was 10 miles with a path width of 200 yards.There was one fatality, an elderly man in a vehicle in the Woodland Hills area, and ten injuries. Eight of the injuries were treated and released while 2 others were hospitalized.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5587961. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.