Tornado and Hail in Alabama, April 15, 1956

Name: Tornado and Hail in Alabama, April 15, 1956
Start: 1956-04-15T05:30
End: 1956-04-15T19:00
Location: Alabama

April 15, 1956 · 6 events in 5 counties and zones

4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 25
Injuries: 200
Property damage: $2.5 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Sumter

When: April 15, 5:30 AM CST
Where: Sumter County
Measured: 2 in hail
Coordinates: 32.700, -88.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Winston

When: April 15, 7:30 AM CST
Where: Winston County
Coordinates: 34.200, -87.580

Tornado, Jefferson

When: April 15, 3:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Rating: F4
Path length: 21.3 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Deaths: 25 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 200 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 33.500, -86.970

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: April 15, 3:20 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 33.580, -86.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Bibb

When: April 15, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Bibb County
Coordinates: 33.000, -87.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Fayette

When: April 15, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Fayette County
Coordinates: 33.580, -85.780

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alabama in 1956 Every state in 1956 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Alabama, 1956

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 9976797, 9976798, 9976799, 9976800, 9976801, 9976802.