F1 tornado, Troy to Petrey, Alabama, September 28, 1998

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.

Rating

F1

Date

September 28, 1998

Touchdown

1:57 PM CDT (18:57 UTC)

Path length

2.6 miles (4.2 km)

Path width

30 yards (27 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$70,000

Counties

Crenshaw and Pike counties

Touchdown point

31.630, -86.170

Lift-off point

31.670, -86.170

Record number

1305

Hurricane Georges spawned tornadoes across southeast and south central Alabama on the 28th and 29th. The first tornado touched down in extreme southwest Pike County. Numerous trees and power lines down in the Camp Sharon and Fleetwood communities. This tornado continued into Crenshaw County and produced damage near Glenwood.

A tornado moving northwest out of western Pike County, moved through the community of Glenwood and lifted back into the cloud just northwest of Glenwood. The tornado destroyed a trailer and damaged several other homes. Trees and power lines were also blown down. No injuries were reported.

A tornado briefly touched down near the community of Patsburg. Two homes had major damage and a business was destroyed. Trees and power lines were also blown down. Several horses were also injured.

A tornado briefly touched down just northwest of Luverne. The tornado destroyed a county barn and caused minor damage to several brick homes. Trees and power lines were also blown down.

A tornado briefly touched down near the community of Petrey. Three homes suffered major damage. Trees and power lines were also blown down. No injuries were reported.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

22 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 18:35 UTC, 22 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 19:15 UTC.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 11:01 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 Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 1998 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

19 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

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