Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 1994

F1 tornado, Limestone County, Alabama, June 26, 1994

This F1 tornado ran 5.0 miles across Limestone County on June 26, 1994, touching down at 10:12 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $50,000 to $500,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
F1
Date
June 26, 1994
Touchdown
10:12 PM CDT (03:12 UTC)
Path length
5.0 miles (8.0 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000 to $500,000
County
Limestone County
Touchdown point
34.700, -86.870
Lift-off point
34.780, -86.800
Record number
623

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 06:23 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The surface observations

Huntsville/Madison (HSV), 12 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
02:00 UTC8073190° 18 kt221008.1-TSRA
03:00 UTC7974210° 12 kt1009.5-TSRA
03:34 UTC280° 19 kt351008.8
03:42 UTC320° 22 kt581009.1
04:00 UTC7068340° 25 kt381009.1+TSRA
04:07 UTC260° 6 kt261009.8
04:26 UTC300° 9 kt1009.8
05:00 UTC7270220° 5 kt1013.2-SHRA

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 1994 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 26, 1994

39 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 261:15 AM CDTF1Dent, MO3.0502$5,000 to $50,000
June 262:45 PM CDTF0Scott, IA0.123$50 to $500
June 262:30 PM MDTF0Chouteau, MT0.110$500 to $5,000
June 262:30 PM MDTF0Chouteau, MT0.110
June 264:30 PM EDTF0Stephens, GA0.320$500 to $5,000
June 264:15 PM CDTF0Obion, TN0.523$500 to $5,000
June 264:27 PM CDTF1Calloway, KY1.020$5,000 to $50,000
June 265:45 PM EDTF0Taylor, GA0.2201$5,000 to $50,000
June 266:15 PM EDTF1Pulaski, KY1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
June 265:17 PM CDTF1Gibson, TN4.050$50,000 to $500,000
June 265:33 PM CDTF0Tazewell, IL0.220
June 266:00 PM CDTF0Lauderdale, TN0.510$50 to $500
June 267:00 PM CDTF0Coffee, TN3.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 267:05 PM CDTF0Fayette, TN2.010$500 to $5,000
June 267:10 PM CDTF0Haywood, TN1.010$500 to $5,000
June 267:30 PM CDTF0Hardeman, TN2.023$50 to $500
June 267:30 PM CDTF2Grundy, TN4.0506$50,000 to $500,000
June 267:32 PM CDTF0Fayette, TN0.510$50 to $500
June 268:15 PM CDTF2Sequatchie, TN2.0100$50,000 to $500,000
June 268:30 PM CDTF1Franklin, TN8.0200$5,000 to $50,000
June 268:30 PM CDTF0Tippah, MS2.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 269:00 PM CDTF3Wayne, TN to AL38.088022$50,000 to $500,000
June 269:05 PM CDTF0Tippah, MS2.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 269:30 PM CDTF0Tippah, MS1.540$500 to $5,000
June 269:35 PM CDTF0Fayette, TN2.020$50 to $500
June 269:50 PM CDTF3Limestone, AL3.0300$50,000 to $500,000
June 2611:20 PM EDTF0Hall, GA0.530$500 to $5,000
June 2611:26 PM EDTF1Habersham, GA18.02202$50,000 to $500,000
June 2611:30 PM EDTF2Cobb, GA2.04401$500,000 to $5 million
June 2611:30 PM EDTF2Oconee, SC12.09001$50,000 to $500,000
June 2610:50 PM CDTF2Limestone, AL7.02002$500,000 to $5 million
June 2611:00 PM CDTF1Wayne, TN5.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 2612:02 AM EDTF1Hall, GA8.01007$500,000 to $5 million
June 2612:05 AM EDTF1Pickens, SC8.0200$50,000 to $500,000
June 2612:45 AM EDTF1Hall, GA4.0200$500,000 to $5 million
June 2612:05 AM CDTF1Chickasaw, MS2.01001$50,000 to $500,000
June 2612:20 AM CDTF0Cherokee, AL4.0200$50,000 to $500,000
June 261:50 AM EDTF0Hall, GA0.550$500 to $5,000
June 261:55 AM EDTF0Polk, GA0.3201$50 to $500

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.