F2 tornado, Jones to Rockford, Alabama, November 24, 2004

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 mph

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

3. F2113 to 157 mphthis tornado

   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

F2

Date

November 24, 2004

Touchdown

5:49 AM CST (11:49 UTC)

Path length

49.0 miles (78.8 km)

Path width

1,400 yards (1280 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$630,000

Counties

Autauga, Chilton and Coosa counties

Touchdown point

32.600, -86.900

Lift-off point

33.000, -86.180

Record number

256

National Weather Service Meteorologist made a few trips to the damage areas across Autauga, Chilton and Coosa Counties. The damage was consistent with a very large tornado with a long damage path. The tornado damage was rated an F2, but the strength of the tornado may have been stronger but the tornado affected mostly rural areas. The F2 tornado first touched down between Jones and Bethel Grove generally producing only tree damage until it reached the county line. The tornado then traveled on a northeast heading into southern Chilton County between Pletcher and Billingsley. The tornado was fairly weak at this time, blowing down and snapping off several large trees in rural areas. As the tornado approached the west side of Interstate 65, the tornado increased to F2 intensity and caused considerable damage to several structures. Continuing northeast, the tornado weakened a bit as it crossed Interstate 65 in the vicinity of mile marker 202, approximately 3 miles south of the Clanton Exit. The tornado was still strong enough at this time to down several large trees and block the northbound lanes of traffic. After crossing the interstate, the tornado regained F2 intensity moving through the Cooper Community. The tornado produced extensive structural damage in Cooper. Several homes, businesses, mobile homes and out-buildings were damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of trees were blown down or snapped off in this area. The tornado moved across eastern Chilton County and went across Lake Mitchell. At Lake Mitchell, on the Chilton/Coosa County Line, numerous homes and mobile homes were destroyed generally between Blue Creek and Cargle Creek. The tornado crossed Lake Mitchell and moved into the Coosa Wildlife Management Area along Hatchet Creek. Hundreds of trees were splintered in this area. The tornado then moved through rural Coosa County crossing US 231 just south of the Hanover Community. The tornado dissipated shortly after US 231. The tornado damage path was 49.1 miles long and an astounding 1400 yards wide at its widest point. No injuries or fatalities were reported with this strong tornado. Begin: 32 35.77/86 53.11 End: 32 59.99/86 11.45

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

12 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 11:37 UTC, 12 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 12:15 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, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 06:00 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 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.

Alabaster (EET), 48 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 11:48 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 2004 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

49 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.