Hail, Colbert
- When
- July 4, 2:40 PM CST
- Where
- Colbert County, 3 mi N of Cherokee
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 34.800, -87.970
Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, July 4, 1997
Nickel size hail was reported at Sheffield along with three-quarter inch hail in the Cherokee area. Wind gusting into the range of 50 to 60 mph caused widespread damage to trees and power lines.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- $19,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 BMX wrote it up.
Nickel size hail was reported at Sheffield along with three-quarter inch hail in the Cherokee area. Wind gusting into the range of 50 to 60 mph caused widespread damage to trees and power lines. Some of the most serious damage occurred at Leighton where 12 houses sustained damage including some with roofs off and two businesses were de- roofed. SR 20 was lined with fallen trees.One man was injured, a broken leg, when a portable building blew over on top of him and dragged him part way across the yard.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Colbert
- When
- July 4, 3:15 PM CST
- Where
- Colbert County, Sheffield
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 34.770, -87.700
Thunderstorm Wind, Colbert
- When
- July 4, 3:16 PM CST
- Where
- Colbert County, Muscle Shoals
- Measured
- 55 kt (63 mph)
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 34.750, -87.670
Thunderstorm Wind, Colbert
- When
- July 4, 3:20 PM CST
- Where
- Colbert County, Leighton
- Measured
- 55 kt (63 mph)
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 34.700, -87.520
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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, July 4, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 4, 1997
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 4, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in Florida, July 4, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, July 4, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Florida, July 4, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kentucky, July 4, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, July 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Florida, July 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Florida, July 4, 1997
More
Every storm in Alabama in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, July 1997
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: 5611579, 5611580, 5611581, 5611582.