EF0 tornado, Weogufka to Mt Olive, Alabama, February 16, 2025

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

February 16, 2025

Touchdown

2:00 AM CST (08:00 UTC)

Lifted

2:12 AM CST (08:12 UTC)

On the ground

12 minutes

Path length

12.2 miles (19.6 km)

Path width

250 yards (229 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Coosa County

Touchdown point

33.025, -86.354

Lift-off point

33.070, -86.152

Record number

2502160200-01

15 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 80 mph.

• Numerous uprooted trees in a wooded area.

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

A line of severe thunderstorms ahead of an approaching cold front entered northwest Central Alabama around 11 PM on February 15. Over the next five hours, Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued for all 39 counties in Central Alabama as the line moved eastward across the area. Reports of damage were received from nearly all of the 39 counties, and five line-embedded tornadoes were confirmed after storm surveys. The most significant tornadoes, both rated EF1, tracked roughly 18 miles across Hale and Perry counties and approximately 7.5 across Macon County, both causing widespread timber damage and damage to several homes. Montgomery Regional Airport recorded a wind gust of 70 mph as the line passed through just prior to 2:30 AM.

The National Weather Service surveyed in northern Coosa County|and determined the damage to be consistent with an EF-0 tornado.|The tornado initially touched down along County Road 55, where a|few softwood trees were downed. The tornado caused significant|tree damage across a wooded area east of CR 55, with many|uprooted trees. Along Prater Rd, several softwood trees sustained|minor damage. From there, the tornado tracked east-northeast|crossing County Road 29, just north of the Weogufka Family|Worship Center. Here, several softwood trees were uprooted along|with several homes that received minor damage. The tornado|continued crossing County Road 41 where additional trees were|uprooted and power lines were damaged due to the tree fall. The|tornado then crossed Hwy 231 and 280, where softwood trees were|both uprooted and snapped, and some additional tin shed damage|was noted. Maximum winds were estimated at 80 mph.

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

4 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 07:56 UTC, 4 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 08:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 03:11 UTC and running to 08:54 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 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.

Sylacauga (SCD), 15 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 07:59 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 2025 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

8 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.