Tornadoes · United States · Alabama
1997 tornadoes in Alabama
29 tornadoes touched down in Alabama in 1997, 18 percent below the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 47.
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.
F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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.
Every tornado in Alabama in 1997
January 5 2 tornadoes
January 24 3 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 24 | 7:37 AM CST | F1 | Elmore | 1.5 | 50 | $40,000 | ||
| January 24 | 2:50 PM CST | F1 | Lawrence | 3.0 | 73 | $40,000 | ||
| January 24 | 5:00 PM CST | F2 | Tuscaloosa | 10.0 | 200 | 1 | 10 | $5.0 million |
January 28 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 28 | 12:08 AM CST | F2 | Tuscaloosa | 2.0 | 73 | 1 | $90,000 |
February 21 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 21 | 9:35 AM CST | F0 | Shelby | 0.5 | 50 | $10,000 |
April 22 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 22 | 3:53 PM CDT | F2 | DeKalb | 5.0 | 220 | 10 | $2.2 million |
May 3 5 tornadoes
May 25 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 7:23 PM CDT | F0 | Madison | 0.2 | 30 |
June 16 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 16 | 1:08 PM CDT | F1 | Colbert | 3.0 | 50 | 1 | $100,000 |
July 18 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 18 | 6:02 PM CDT | F0 | Baldwin | 0.1 | 30 |
July 22 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 22 | 2:48 PM CDT | F0 | Lee | 0.3 | 23 |
July 28 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 28 | 3:45 PM CDT | F0 | Cullman | 1.0 | 30 |
October 24 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 24 | 11:00 AM CDT | F1 | Dale | 0.3 | 73 | |||
| October 24 | 11:30 AM CDT | F1 | Dale | 0.5 | 100 | $1.0 million |
October 25 3 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 25 | 1:30 PM CDT | F0 | Butler | 1.0 | 150 | $4,000 | ||
| October 25 | 6:38 PM CDT | F0 | Dale | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| October 25 | 6:50 PM CDT | F1 | Houston | 1.5 | 150 | 2 | $250,000 |
October 26 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 26 | 10:00 AM CST | F1 | Houston | 2.0 | 150 | $150,000 |
November 21 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 21 | 7:40 PM CST | F3 | Mobile | 1.0 | 300 | $2.0 million | ||
| November 21 | 10:45 PM CST | F1 | Covington | 0.5 | 150 | $250,000 |
December 24 3 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 24 | 6:39 AM CST | F1 | Geneva | 1.0 | 100 | 1 | $250,000 | |
| December 24 | 7:17 AM CST | F2 | Houston | 3.0 | 300 | 5 | $500,000 | |
| December 24 | 7:26 AM CST | F1 | Dale | 1.5 | 150 | 4 | $250,000 |
Crossed into Alabama
Tornadoes that touched down in a neighboring state and ran into Alabama. They are counted under the state they began in.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 25 | 5:10 PM CDT | F1 | George, MS to AL | 13.0 | 300 | 7 | $90,000 |
Nearby
Every tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in AlabamaThe live radar over Alabama
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.