Tornadoes in Alabama, May 9, 1998

Name: Tornadoes in Alabama, May 9, 1998
Start: 1998-05-09T18:20
End: 1998-05-09T18:30
Location: Alabama

May 9, 1998 · NWS BMX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

5 mile track crossing from Pickens County into Tuscaloosa County. Damage was primarily in the form of downed trees though several structures sustained minor damage.

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: $40,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Events: 2

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.

A weak tornado touched down in a wooded area south of Gordo producing damage along a 6.5 mile track crossing from Pickens County into Tuscaloosa County. Damage was primarily in the form of downed trees though several structures sustained minor damage. This tornado apparently came out of the same thunderstorm that produced the weak tornado on the north side of Carrollton earlier. This tornado damage path also crossed the damage path that occurred with the F3 tornado on April 8, 1998.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Pickens

When: May 9, 6:20 PM CST to 6:26 PM CST
Where: Pickens County, Gordo to 1 mi SE of Gordo
Rating: F0
Path length: 3.8 mi
Path width: 75 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 33.300, -87.900

Tornado, Tuscaloosa

When: May 9, 6:26 PM CST to 6:30 PM CST
Where: Tuscaloosa County, Holman to 2 mi NE of Holman
Rating: F0
Path length: 2.7 mi
Path width: 60 yd
Property damage: $15,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 33.300, -87.850

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

Every storm in Alabama in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Alabama, 1998 Warnings in Alabama, May 1998

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: 5646615, 5646616.