Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Alabama, March 11, 1963

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Alabama, March 11, 1963
Start: 1963-03-11T14:00
End: 1963-03-11T22:40
Location: Alabama

March 11, 1963 · 12 events in 11 counties and zones

8 tornado, 4 thunderstorm wind, 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: 3
Injuries: 13
Property damage: $7.8 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

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

8 tornado, 4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Walker

When: March 11, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Walker County
Rating: F1
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 33.830, -87.430

Tornado, Pickens

When: March 11, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Pickens County
Rating: F2
Path width: 440 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 33.420, -88.100

Tornado, Cullman

When: March 11, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Cullman County
Rating: F4
Path length: 28 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 33.900, -86.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Fayette

When: March 11, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Fayette County
Coordinates: 33.700, -87.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Morgan

When: March 11, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Morgan County
Coordinates: 34.500, -86.680

Tornado, Franklin

When: March 11, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Franklin County
Rating: F2
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 34.600, -88.100

Tornado, Limestone

When: March 11, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Limestone County
Rating: F2
Path length: 22.2 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.770, -87.170

Tornado, Madison

When: March 11, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Rating: F2
Path length: 25 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.880, -86.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Madison

When: March 11, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 34.700, -86.580

Tornado, Marion

When: March 11, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Marion County
Rating: F2
Path length: 24.6 mi
Path width: 333 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.120, -88.020

Tornado, Winston

When: March 11, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Winston County
Rating: F2
Path length: 7.6 mi
Path width: 333 yd
Property damage: $250
Coordinates: 34.250, -87.620

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When: March 11, 10:40 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Coordinates: 34.880, -86.080

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Limestone	1963-03-11				Direct

What these are

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.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alabama in 1963 Every state in 1963 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Alabama, 1963

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: 9976942, 9976943, 9976944, 9976945, 9976946, 9976947, 9976948, 9976949, 9976950, 9976951, 9976952, 9976953.