Alabama, 1997

Tornado in Alabama, November 21, 1997

November 21, 1997 · NWS MOB · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$250,000
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.

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:43 UTC.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Covington

When
November 21, 10:45 PM CST to 10:47 PM CST
Where
Covington County, 1 mi S of Opp
Measured
80
Rating
F1
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
150 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
31.270, -86.250

A tornado briefly touched down one mile south of Opp near the community of Beulah. Three homes were hit by the tornado. One home was completely destroyed and two others suffered major damage. Five family members in the destroyed home said they huddled in the hallway and were not injured. They said it sounded like a freight train moved through. Two large empty chicken houses were also destroyed. A barn and several outbuildings also suffered damage. Trees and power lines were blown down. Several vehicles and farm implements also were damaged by the fallen trees. One cow was killed by the debris. Another cow was found wandering in the road, but there was no way for the cow to have gotten there unless it was picked up and set on the other side of a fence that was not damaged by the storm.

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 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Alabama, 1997Warnings in Alabama, November 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: 5619964.