Tornado, Lawrence
- When
- December 16, 12:25 PM CST to 12:30 PM CST
- Where
- Lawrence County, 5 mi NE of Courtland
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 3.7 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 34.717, -87.233
Tornadoes in Alabama, December 16, 2000
The tornado first touched down in Lawrence County northeast of Courtland in open farm land. 9 miles south of Coxey in southwest Limestone County.
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
- 0
- Property damage
- $95,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- 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.
The tornado first touched down in Lawrence County northeast of Courtland in open farm land. It traveled northeast into Limestone County crossing the Tennessee river and causing damage about 2.9 miles south of Coxey in southwest Limestone County. The tornado travelled approximately a half mile on land in Limestone County before dissipating rapidly. One house lost a portion of a roof, two other homes sustained damage from falling trees, several boat houses and out-buildings were destroyed, and numerous large trees were downed. The survey team could find no damage in Lawrence County, however, two people photographed the tornado, one on the east side of Courtland looking northeast and one at Poplar Point in Limestone County looking northwest as it came ashore on the Limestone County side of the river.Beginning: 34 42.569/87 13.850 Ending: 34 45.874/87 10.228
The radar
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:23 UTC.
Event by event
2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Limestone
- When
- December 16, 12:30 PM CST to 12:31 PM CST
- Where
- Limestone County, 4 mi WSW of Ripley
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 1.4 mi
- Path width
- 40 yd
- Property damage
- $95,000
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 34.733, -87.183
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
- Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
- Tornadoes in Alabama, December 16, 2000
- Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
- High Wind in Louisiana, December 16, 2000
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, December 16, 2000
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Georgia, December 16 to 17, 2000
- Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
- Extreme Cold and Lightning Strike in Tennessee, December 16, 2000
- Tornado in Florida, December 16, 2000
- Tornado in Georgia, December 16, 2000
- Extreme Cold in Illinois, December 16 to 17, 2000
- Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
More
Every storm in Alabama in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Alabama, 2000Warnings in Alabama, December 2000
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: 5160295, 5160296.