Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000

Name: Tornado in Alabama, December 16, 2000
Start: 2000-12-16T12:38
End: 2000-12-16T12:44
Location: Alabama

December 16, 2000 · NWS BMX · 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: $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.

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:38 UTC.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Limestone

When: December 16, 12:38 PM CST to 12:44 PM CST
Where: Limestone County, 5 mi NW of Athens
Rating: F2
Path length: 4.8 mi
Path width: 60 yd
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 34.850, -87.050

A second tornado began 5.1 miles west-northwest of Athens just south of O'Neal. The tornado travelled in a northeasterly direction crossing SR 99 where several houses were damaged heavily. Continuing northeast the tornado crossed CR 63 and damaged several houses and destroyed three mobile homes just south of Cross Key. The tornado then crossed CR 26 and SR 127 before dissipating about 5.0 miles north of Athens. The tornado was rated an F2 with no known injuries reported. The total tornado path was 4.8 miles long and about 60 yards wide. The tornado began at 12:38 PM and dissipated at 12:44 PM. Beginning: 34 50.326/87 03.032 Ending: 34 52.552/86 58.748

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 2000 Every state in 2000 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Alabama, 2000 Warnings 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: 5160297.