F3 Tornado — Pickens, Alabama

1998-04-08 · near Gordo, Pickens, Alabama

Wider weather episode

This was the first of three tornadoes produced by one supercell thunderstorm moving across central Alabama. The tornado began at 7:01 pm CDT just south of Gordo in extreme eastern Pickens County and traveled east-northeast moving into Tuscaloosa County around 7:05 pm CDT. The tornado stayed mostly in rural areas crossing the swampy area of the Sipsey River and a number of small roads before crossing SR 21. It remained in rural areas crossing SR 171 and US 43. The tornado dissipated at Lake Tuscaloosa just south of where SR 69 crosses the lake.Emergency management reported that five single-family dwellings were destroyed along with major damage reported to one house and minor damage to 23 others. Eleven mobile homes were destroyed and three mobile homes were damaged. A couple from North Carolina camping at Lake Lurleen lost everything.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.2800, -87.9000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5637198. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.