Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 1995

F1 tornado, Colbert County, Alabama, May 18, 1995

This F1 tornado ran 6.5 miles across Colbert County on May 18, 1995, touching down at 4:45 PM CDT and reaching 150 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
May 18, 1995
Touchdown
4:45 PM CDT (21:45 UTC)
Path length
6.5 miles (10.5 km)
Path width
150 yards (137 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000 to $500,000
County
Colbert County
Touchdown point
34.750, -87.580
Lift-off point
34.850, -87.500
Record number
473

The warnings

64 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:41 UTC, 64 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:45 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:41 UTC21:45 UTCTornado WarningBMX
21:41 UTC22:45 UTCTornado WarningBMX
23:26 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningBMX

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 05:45 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 air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z

9.8 hours before the tornado, 171 km from the path. May 18, 1995.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1995-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1151 joules per kilogram, CIN -3, lifted condensation level 674 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1995-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 178 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 59 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1151 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Surface CAPE
572 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
674 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
189 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
4.9
0-3 km lapse rate
5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 00:00Z

2.2 hours after it, 171 km from the path. May 19, 1995.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1995-05-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1185 joules per kilogram, CIN -47, lifted condensation level 942 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1995-05-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 371 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 52 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1185 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-47 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1041 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
942 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
371 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
460 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.0
Supercell composite
17.4
0-3 km lapse rate
5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 1995 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 18, 1995

78 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 183:30 AM CDTF0Brazos, TX1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
May 185:35 AM EDTF2Mercer, KY1.02008$500,000 to $5 million
May 185:35 AM EDTF2Mercer, KY1.0200$500,000 to $5 million
May 188:45 AM EDTF2Rowan, KY2.0200
May 188:00 AM CDTF0Liberty, TX1.050$5,000 to $50,000
May 188:08 AM CDTF0Liberty, TX1.073$5,000 to $50,000
May 188:20 AM CDTF1Liberty, TX6.550012$50,000 to $500,000
May 188:40 AM CDTF0Liberty, TX0.220$500 to $5,000
May 1810:25 AM CDTF1Pulaski, MO1.01002$5,000 to $50,000
May 1811:58 AM CDTF1Dickson, TN1.050
May 1812:05 PM CDTF2Jefferson, MO7.21503$50,000 to $500,000
May 1812:22 PM CDTF0, DC0.550$5,000 to $50,000
May 1812:30 PM CDTF2Davidson, TN15.07328$500,000 to $5 million
May 1812:37 PM CDTF1Monroe, IL0.683$50,000 to $500,000
May 1812:40 PM CDTF2Monroe, IL4.0300$50,000 to $500,000
May 1812:42 PM CDTF1Monroe, IL4.5100$5,000 to $50,000
May 1812:44 PM CDTF1Monroe, IL6.0200$5,000 to $50,000
May 1812:46 PM CDTF2Monroe, IL4.2170$50,000 to $500,000
May 1812:46 PM CDTF0Saint Clair, IL0.473$500 to $5,000
May 1812:48 PM CDTF1Monroe, IL4.8150$50,000 to $500,000
May 181:05 PM CDTF0Saint Clair, IL8.0120$500 to $5,000
May 181:15 PM CDTF1Macon, TN1.023$50,000 to $500,000
May 181:15 PM CDTF0Randolph, IL6.070$5,000 to $50,000
May 181:17 PM CDTF0Randolph, IL3.550$5,000 to $50,000
May 181:26 PM CDTF0Washington, IL7.560$5,000 to $50,000
May 181:28 PM CDTF1Washington, IL18.0200$50,000 to $500,000
May 181:29 PM CDTF1Cape Girardeau, MO8.050$50,000 to $500,000
May 182:30 PM EDTF1Prince George's, MD0.3302$500,000 to $5 million
May 181:50 PM CDTF0Jefferson, IL0.340
May 181:55 PM CDTF2Lake, TN to KY24.0150$50,000 to $500,000
May 181:55 PM CDTF0Fayette, TN1.010$500 to $5,000
May 181:55 PM CDTF0Hardeman, TN8.050$500 to $5,000
May 183:30 PM EDTF2Caroline, MD10.0200
May 182:35 PM CDTF1Beauregard Parish, LA0.330
May 182:55 PM CDTF0Henderson, TN0.510$500 to $5,000
May 183:25 PM CDTF1Wabash, IL0.550$5,000 to $50,000
May 183:30 PM CDTF1Allen Parish, LA0.5301
May 183:30 PM CDTF1Evangeline Parish, LA0.523
May 184:00 PM ESTF1Martin, IN0.150$5,000 to $50,000
May 184:00 PM CDTF1Todd, KY0.550$5,000 to $50,000
May 184:12 PM CDTF1Trigg, KY0.550$5,000 to $50,000
May 184:15 PM CDTF2Trigg, KY10.073$50,000 to $500,000
May 185:15 PM EDTF2Hardin, KY0.5200$50,000 to $500,000
May 184:30 PM CDTF0Wayne, TN0.510$500 to $5,000
May 185:30 PM EDTF1Bullitt, KY2.0200$5,000 to $50,000
May 184:40 PM CDTF2Breckinridge, KY1.0200$50,000 to $500,000
May 184:40 PM CDTF0Prentiss, MS1.023$5,000 to $50,000
May 184:52 PM CDTF4Lawrence, TN29.01,000332$500,000 to $5 million
May 184:55 PM CDTF0Rutherford, TN8.0734$5,000 to $50,000
May 186:00 PM EDTF1Pulaski, KY0.5200
May 185:04 PM CDTF0Metcalfe, KY1.0200
May 185:10 PM CDTF2Metcalfe, KY3.0200$50,000 to $500,000
May 186:10 PM EDTF2Laurel, KY3.0300$500,000 to $5 million
May 186:10 PM EDTF0Clay, KY0.110
May 185:25 PM CDTF2Warren, KY2.5100$50,000 to $500,000
May 186:25 PM EDTF0Breathitt, KY0.110
May 185:30 PM CDTF2Warren, KY1.5100$50,000 to $500,000
May 185:30 PM CDTF0DeKalb, TN2.023$500 to $5,000
May 186:30 PM EDTF2Perry, KY24.0100$50,000 to $500,000
May 185:33 PM CDTF4Limestone, AL39.01,300155$500,000 to $5 million

All 79 of them

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.