F0 tornado, Elrod to Samantha, Alabama, September 25, 2005

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.

Rating

F0

Date

September 25, 2005

Touchdown

4:24 PM CDT (21:24 UTC)

Path length

5.0 miles (8.0 km)

Path width

60 yards (55 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$10,000

County

Tuscaloosa County

Touchdown point

33.350, -87.700

Lift-off point

33.380, -87.620

Record number

367

The second tornado that affected the Buhl community within an hour touched down at approximately 405 PM CDT. The tornado began just east of County Road 19 near Cornelius Church Road. The tornado traveled northeast and produced significant damage in the Buhl community. Three mobile homes were totally destroyed, two mobile homes suffered major damage, and at least 4 others sustained minor damage on McAllister Road. Two male occupants of a mobile home were injured when the high winds demolished the home. One man was hospitalized. The tornado continued northeastward and crossed County Road 140, US Highway 82 and County Road 21. Several more structures sustained minor roof damage along the path. Additionally, numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted. The tornado snapped off several trees along the northwest side of Lake Lurleen before lifting just north of the lake around 417 PM CDT. This was the same parent thunderstorm that produced the brief tornado near the Tuscaloosa Greene county line. Local media outlets captured this tornado on video. The tornado has been rated an F1 on the Fujita scale. The tornado damage path was 6.7 miles long and 150 yards wide at its widest point. This tornado was produced by the remnants of Hurricane Rita. Begin: 33 14.35/87 45.11 End: 33 18.80/87 40.77

The parent thunderstorm that produced the tornado on the west side of Lake Lurleen re-organized and developed another tornado on the east side of the lake. The tornado touched down just west of Lake Lurleen Road near the southern end of the lake at approximately 419 PM CDT. The tornado produced light tree damage near the east side of the lake. The tornado continued northeast where it strengthened as it neared State Highway 171. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down in this area and the highway was temporarily closed. The tornado lifted shortly after it crossed the highway around 426 PM CDT. A few structures along the path suffered minor damage. The tornado damage path was 5.8 miles long and 100 yards wide at its widest point. This tornado was produced by the remnants of Hurricane Rita. Begin: 33 17.05/87 40.76 End: 33 21.74/87 38.86

National Weather Service meteorologists performed extensive aerial and ground surveys across northern Tuscaloosa County. It has been determined that a tornado produced damage along a large stretch of the Sipsey River Basin. The tornado touched down at approximately 355 PM CDT near County Road 140 just east of Elrod. The tornado traveled northeast along the Sipsey River, crossed County Road 21, crossed State Highway 171, and lifted just east of County Road 35 around 417 PM CDT. A large majority of the damage was minor and limited to tree damage. Numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted along the Sipsey River. The tornado has been rated an F1 on the Fujita scale. The tornado damage path was 13.8 miles long and 100 yards wide at its widest point. This was the same thunderstorm cell that produced the brief tornado touchdown in rural southeastern Pickens County. This tornado was produced by the remnants of Hurricane Rita. Begin: 33 15.16/87 46.94 End: 33 25.98/87 41.79

The Lake Lurleen parent thunderstorm re-organized again and produced a weak tornado near Lake Tuscaloosa. The tornado touched down east of State Highway 171 near Rue Road at approximately 424 PM CDT. The tornado tracked northeast and crossed US Highway 43 before it lifted along the banks of Lake Tuscaloosa around 431 PM CDT. The tornado produced light tree damage along its path and one home suffered minor damage. The tornado damage path was 5 miles long and 60 yards wide at its widest point. This tornado was produced by the remnants of Hurricane Rita.Begin: 33 19.90/87 38.46 End: 33 23.68/87 35.97

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

39 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:45 UTC, 39 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:45 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 19:49 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.

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:21 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.

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

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

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

44 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.