Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2005

F0 tornado, Coatopa, Alabama, September 25, 2005

This F0 tornado ran 2.8 miles across Sumter County on September 25, 2005, touching down at 9:42 PM CDT and reaching 50 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 mphthis tornado

    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 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
F0
Date
September 25, 2005
Touchdown
9:42 PM CDT (02:42 UTC)
Path length
2.8 miles (4.5 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$20,000
County
Sumter County
Touchdown point
32.480, -88.070
Lift-off point
32.520, -88.030
Record number
375

What the Weather Service recorded

A weak tornado affected areas in and near the Coatopa community. The tornado touched down near the intersection of State Highway 28 and County Road 23, southeast of Livingston, at approximately 942 PM CDT. The tornado tracked northeastward and crossed Mundy Road in several spots. The tornado lifted near the intersection of Mundy Road and County Road 23 around 946 PM CDT. Several trees were blown down, snapped off, or twisted along the path. Near the end of the tornado path, some of the downed trees caused damage to vehicles and a house trailer. Two small barns also had their roofs partially damaged. The tornado damage path was 2.8 miles long and 50 yards wide at its widest point. This tornado was produced by the remnants of Hurricane Rita.Begin: 32 29.13/88 04.27 End: 32 30.39/88 01.74

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

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 00:44 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

2.7 hours before the tornado, 141 km from the path. September 26, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2005-09-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1115 joules per kilogram, CIN -6, lifted condensation level 771 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2005-09-26The 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 310 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 37 knots.193958Sfc1 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
1115 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1362 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
771 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
310 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
443 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.8
Supercell composite
10.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 12:00Z

9.3 hours after it, 141 km from the path. September 26, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2005-09-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 207 joules per kilogram, CIN -5, lifted condensation level 486 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2005-09-26The 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 122 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 40 knots.193958Sfc1 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
207 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Surface CAPE
99 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
486 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
122 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
121 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.7
0-3 km lapse rate
4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Meridian Nas/Mccain (NMM), 48 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
01:55 UTC7575290° 10 kt151011.9+TSRA FG

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

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 141 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:43 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.

What was reported nearby

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

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
02:42 UTCTORNADO9 Se LivingstonSumter, ALAN FO TORNADO AFFECTED THE COATOPA COMMUNITY IN SOUTHEASTERN SUMTER COUNTY. THE TORNADO DEVELOPED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF STATE HIGHWAY 28 AND COUNTY ROAD 23. THE TORNADO TRAVELED NORTHEAST AND CROSSED MUNDY ROAD SEVERA
02:42 UTCTORNADO9 Se LivingstonSumter, ALAN FO TORNADO AFFECT THE COATOPA COMMUNITY IN SOUTHEASTERN SUMTER COUNTY. THE TORNADO DEVELOPED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF STATE HIGHWAY 28 AND COUNTY ROAD 23. THE TRAVELED NORTHEAST AND CROSSED MUNDY ROAD SEVERAL TIMES. S
02:44 UTCTORNADO9 Se LivingstonSumter, ALNWS STORM SURVEY TEAM FOUND AN F0 TORNADO TRACK IN COATOPA...IN SOUTHERN SUMTER COUNTY.
02:44 UTCTORNADO9 Se LivingstonSumter, ALNWS STORM SURVEY TEAM FOUND AN F0 TORNADO TRACK IN THE COATOPA COMMUNITY.
02:44 UTCTORNADO9 Se LivingstonSumter, ALNWS STORM SURVEY TEAM FOUND AN F0 TORNADO TRACK IN THE COATOPA COMMUNITY IN SOUTHERN SUMTER COUNTY.

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 September 25, 2005

44 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 251:39 AM CDTF0Franklin Parish, LA0.7100$200,000
September 251:43 AM CDTF0Madison Parish, LA4.075$30,000
September 253:17 AM CDTF2Jefferson, MS10.0600$180,000
September 253:37 AM CDTF1Jefferson, MS1.075
September 253:49 AM CDTF2Jefferson, MS5.08001$300,000
September 253:54 AM CDTF2Claiborne, MS2.0800$20,000
September 254:44 AM CDTF0Jefferson, MS4.050$40,000
September 255:00 AM CDTF0Monroe, AL2.250$80,000
September 258:02 AM CDTF1Claiborne, MS0.750$70,000
September 259:21 AM CDTF0Warren, MS1.5100$10,000
September 2512:26 PM CDTF0Warren, MS0.550$30,000
September 251:01 PM CDTF0Lamar, AL0.125$1,000
September 251:55 PM CDTF0Attala, MS2.075$50,000
September 252:04 PM CDTF0Pickens, AL5.230$4,000
September 252:05 PM CDTF0Madison, MS3.075
September 252:22 PM CDTF1Lamar, AL6.2300$140,000
September 252:25 PM CDTF0Smith, MS1.050$30,000
September 252:30 PM CDTF1Marion, AL2.540$10,000
September 252:38 PM CDTF1Oktibbeha, MS3.5757$2.0 million
September 252:47 PM CDTF1Leake, MS1.5100$200,000
September 252:54 PM CDTF0Winston, AL0.850$30,000
September 252:55 PM CDTF0Tuscaloosa, AL1.680$40,000
September 252:57 PM CDTF1Winston, AL2.5150$20,000
September 253:00 PM CDTF0Fayette, AL0.120
September 253:01 PM CDTF0Jasper, MS1.050
September 253:05 PM CDTF0Tuscaloosa, AL0.850$20,000
September 253:06 PM CDTF0Winston, AL0.530$3,000
September 253:28 PM CDTF0Hinds, MS1.075
September 253:39 PM CDTF0Pickens, AL0.325$2,000
September 253:54 PM CDTF0Greene, AL0.125
September 253:55 PM CDTF1Tuscaloosa, AL13.8100$10,000
September 253:55 PM CDTF0Tuscaloosa, AL0.225
September 253:58 PM CDTF1Rankin, MS2.075$400,000
September 254:05 PM CDTF1Tuscaloosa, AL6.71502$250,000
September 254:14 PM CDTF0Oktibbeha, MS1.050
September 254:19 PM CDTF0Tuscaloosa, AL5.8100$20,000
September 254:21 PM CDTF1Lauderdale, MS1.8150$250,000
September 254:24 PM CDTF0Tuscaloosa, AL5.060$10,000
September 255:07 PM CDTF0Rankin, MS1.050$10,000
September 255:24 PM CDTF0Noxubee, MS1.050
September 255:37 PM CDTF1Greene, AL6.0250$250,000
September 255:52 PM CDTF0Tuscaloosa, AL1.260$60,000
September 255:59 PM CDTF1Tuscaloosa, AL4.8125$200,000
September 256:14 PM CDTF0Tuscaloosa, AL0.110

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.