Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2005

F1 tornado, Equality, Alabama, November 28, 2005

This F1 tornado ran 0.4 miles across Coosa County on November 28, 2005, touching down at 7:44 PM CST and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 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
November 28, 2005
Touchdown
7:44 PM CST (01:44 UTC)
Path length
0.4 miles (0.6 km)
Path width
150 yards (137 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$20,000
County
Coosa County
Touchdown point
32.730, -86.150
Lift-off point
32.730, -86.130
Record number
520

What the Weather Service recorded

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed the damage that affected areas west of Equality. It has been determined that the damage was the result of a tornado. The tornado has been rated an F1 on the Fujita Damage Intensity Scale. The tornado touched down near Weoka Creek in far southern Coosa County, just east of County Road 67. The tornado tracked northeastward and ended after it crossed Self Road, just west of County Road 2. This location is approximately 2.5 miles west of Equality. The tornado damage was rather short, only 0.4 miles long. The tornado was 150 yards wide at its widest point. One home sustained roof damage and a pool shed was destroyed. Several pine trees were snapped off along the path.Begin: 32.7558/86.1649 End: 32.7583/86.1394

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

The warnings

36 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:08 UTC, 36 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 23:40 UTC and running to 03:59 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
10:05 UTC00:00 UTCWind AdvisoryBMX
15:57 UTC23:40 UTCTornado WatchBMX
17:51 UTC18:15 UTCTornado WarningBMX
23:40 UTC03:59 UTCTornado WatchBMX
01:08 UTC01:45 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:42 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.

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 00:00Z

1.7 hours before the tornado, 78 km from the path. November 29, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2005-11-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -19337, lifted condensation level 659 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2005-11-29The 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 83 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 41 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19337 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
659 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
83 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
242 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.9
0-3 km lapse rate
4.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 12:00Z

10.3 hours after it, 78 km from the path. November 29, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2005-11-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -113532, lifted condensation level 1418 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2005-11-29The 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 -113 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 62 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-113532 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1418 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-113 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-21 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Alexander City (ALX), 26 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC6864.4160° 9 kt211006.8VCTS
00:20 UTC6864.4140° 9 kt171006.1VCTS
00:40 UTC6864.4160° 16 kt211006.1VCTS
01:00 UTC6866.2150° 11 kt231007.1VCTS
01:20 UTC6866.2170° 9 kt181007.1TS
01:40 UTC6866.2150° 9 kt201007.5-TSRA
02:20 UTC60.859290° 7 kt151008.5+TSRA
02:40 UTC5955.4240° 5 kt1009.1-VCTSRA
03:00 UTC57.253.6280° 5 kt1009.5-TSDZ
03:20 UTC57.255.4300° 8 kt1009.1+TSRA
03:40 UTC53.651.80° 0 kt1010.2TS

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

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
00:46 UTCTORNADO1 N AutaugavilleAutauga, ALSIGNIFICANT DEBRIS FIELD. CNTY RD 165 MINOR STRUCTURE DAMAGE. MAJOR POWER LINES AND TREES DOWN.
00:54 UTCTORNADO 0AutaugavilleAutauga, ALNUMEROUS SUBSTANIAL TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED. A GARAGE ATTACHED TO A MOBILE HOME WAS BLOWN AWAY. VINYL SIDING DAMAGE TO A HOUSE AND A FENCE DOWN. A STORAGE SHED DESTROYED. ROOF DAMAGE TO A SUBSTANTIAL LARGE STEEL STRUC
00:54 UTCTORNADO2 N AutaugavilleAutauga, ALFENCE DOWN AND DAMAGE TO A SHED NEAR COUNTY ROAD 13
00:58 UTCTORNADO1 N AutaugavilleAutauga, ALPOSSIBLE TORNADO. TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.
01:30 UTCTORNADO 014 N WetumpkaElmore, ALFEW TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED 1 SW WEOKA ON CR80
01:46 UTCTORNADO 12 W EqualityCoosa, ALSEVERAL PINE TREES WERE SNAPPED ALONG COUNTY ROAD 2. ONE HOUSE SUSTAINED ROOF DAMAGE AND A POOL SHED WAS DESTROYED. THE TORNADO WAS 1000 YARDS LONG AND 150 YARDS WIDE.
02:06 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 W Jacksons' GapTallapoosa, ALSEVERAL TREES HAD FALLEN ACROSS A ROAD IN THE PECKERWOOD COMMUNITY

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2005 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of November 28, 2005

7 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 281:24 AM CSTF0West Carroll Parish, LA0.530$50,000
November 281:56 AM CSTF0Washington, MS1.030$50,000
November 282:10 PM CSTF0Jefferson, AL0.130$20,000
November 282:40 PM CSTF0Jefferson, AL0.475$40,000
November 284:53 PM CSTF0Dallas, AL5.850$30,000
November 286:41 PM CSTF0Autauga, AL5.4150$30,000
November 287:30 PM CSTF0Elmore, AL0.130$10,000

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.