Alabama, 1996

Tornado in Alabama, March 18, 1996

March 18, 1996 · NWS MOB · 1 event in 1 county or zone

THE SAME STORM SYSTEM THAT DROPPED A COUPLE OF TORNADOES IN CLARKE COUNTY MOVED INTO MONROE COUNTY AND DROPPED A TORNADO FOUR MILES EAST OF CLAIBORNE LAKE, JUST WEST OF COUNTY ROAD 17. THE TORNADO MOVED NORTHEAST AND MOVED THROUGH FRANKLIN ALONG STATE HWY 41.

Where it happened

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

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
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  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
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  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
5
Property damage
$150,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MOB wrote it up.

THE SAME STORM SYSTEM THAT DROPPED A COUPLE OF TORNADOES IN CLARKE COUNTY MOVED INTO MONROE COUNTY AND DROPPED A TORNADO FOUR MILES EAST OF CLAIBORNE LAKE, JUST WEST OF COUNTY ROAD 17. THE TORNADO MOVED NORTHEAST AND MOVED THROUGH FRANKLIN ALONG STATE HWY 41. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED BACK INTO THE CLOUD JUST WEST OF COUNTY ROAD 56, SIX MILES SOUTH OF VREDENBURGH. THE TORNADO SKIPPED ALONG THE GROUND FOR ABOUT ELEVEN MILES. THREE MOBILE HOMES AND A HOUSE WERE DESTROYED NEAR FRANKLIN. FIVE PEOPLE WERE INJURED, BUT NONE SERIOUSLY. TREES AND POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN ALONG THE TRACK OF THE TORNADO. SHEDS AND BARNS ALONG THE TRACK OF THE TORNADO ALSO SUFFERED DAMAGE. TREES FALLING ON HOMES ALSO CAUSED SOME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. OTHER HOMES HAD ROOF DAMAGE WHEN SHINGLES WERE BLOWN OFF.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Monroe

When
March 18, 6:07 PM CST to 6:30 PM CST
Where
Monroe County, Claiborne to 4 mi S of Vredenburgh
Rating
F2
Path length
11 mi
Path width
200 yd
Injuries
5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$150,000
Coordinates
31.530, -87.450

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alabama in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Alabama, 1996Warnings in Alabama, March 1996

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: 5552293.