EF0 tornado, Hollis Dairy Rd to Headland, Alabama, March 18, 2021

1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. EF5over 200 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

EF0

Date

March 18, 2021

Touchdown

5:49 AM CDT (10:49 UTC)

Lifted

5:52 AM CDT (10:52 UTC)

On the ground

3 minutes

Path length

2.1 miles (3.3 km)

Path width

50 yards (46 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$4,000

Counties

Houston and Henry counties

Touchdown point

31.305, -85.382

Lift-off point

31.326, -85.358

Record number

2103180449-01

28 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TAE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 100 mph.

• outer edge of greatest damage
• small pine snapped outer edge
• Large camper moved 10 feet
• Shed destroyed. Boat blown off trailer

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

A strong spring cold front moved through the tri-state region. A squall line preceded the front with scattered reports of severe weather, including a few tornadoes.

The tornado first began east of Wicksburg and east of the Houston/Geneva county line where scattered tree limbs where reported by the emergency manager. The tornado then strengthened and hit several structures on a farm where damage was confined to ripped roof paneling and other similar damage. The tornado then traveled northeast towards US-84. It was in these locations that the tornado was likely at its peak strength as it moved across Marshall Rd and into the Highlands Subdivision along Highway 84. Along Marshall Rd, a double wide sustained significant roof covering loss, a large carport over a RV was completely destroyed, and a out building nearby was missing nearly its entire roof with some walls partially collapsed. The tornado also briefly picked up a boat, with trailer, and rolled/rotated it 180 degrees on the trailer before being laid to rest nearly 75-100 yards from its original location. EF-1 damage was again observed in the Highlands Subdivision south of US Highway 84. Two homes sustained roof damage with one home sustaining partial roof loss on the second story. Many pine trees near this house were also snapped or uprooted. While these were the only homes with notable damage in the community, there was a path of widespread tree damage through the rest of the neighborhood. The tornado then crossed US-84 where damage became more isolated with a few downed trees and broken branches. The tornado is then estimated to have lifted just northeast of North Brannon Stand Rd. Max winds were estimated around 100 mph. The NWS thanks Houston County EM Chris Judah for his assistance during this survey.

An EF0 tornado touched down in northwestern Houston County near Cedar Creek. Small trees and branches were snapped along Faulkner Rd and Suggs Rd. A carport on Suggs Rd sustained damage. The tornado then tracked northeast into Henry County, snapping some small trees and branches along Burdeshow Rd before lifting just south of Headland. Max winds were estimated around 80 mph.

An EF0 tornado touched down in northwestern Houston County near Cedar Creek. Small trees and branches were snapped along Faulkner Rd and Suggs Rd. A carport on Suggs Rd sustained damage. The tornado then tracked northeast into Henry County, snapping some small trees and branches along Burdeshow Rd before lifting just south of Headland. Max winds were estimated around 80 mph.

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

23 minutes of warning. NWS TAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 10:26 UTC, 23 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 10:53 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 04:02 UTC and running to 13:00 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 Marginal Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 05:48 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), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 10:47 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 2021 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

15 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.