EF3 tornado, Plantersville to Clanton, Alabama, March 15, 2025

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   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 mphthis tornado

   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

EF3

Date

March 15, 2025

Touchdown

8:50 PM CDT (01:50 UTC)

Lifted

9:20 PM CDT (02:20 UTC)

On the ground

30 minutes

Path length

24.3 miles (39.1 km)

Path width

1,000 yards (914 m)

Deaths

2

Injuries

2

Counties

Autauga, Dallas and Chilton counties

Touchdown point

32.597, -86.938

Lift-off point

32.834, -86.650

Record number

2503151950-01

110 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF3. The highest wind the damage implies is 144 mph.

• Several trees downed at the end of Meadowview Cir.
• Well builthome with hurricane clips
• Completely convergent damage trees, every which way crossing themselves
• Modular home shifted 6 feet off its foundation

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

A significant severe weather event unfolded across Central Alabama on March 15, with 15 tornadoes, several instances of straight-line wind damage, and isolated flooding. An initial round of storms during the early morning brought reports of large hail in Pickens and Walker counties, followed by an afternoon round with several strong, long-track tornadoes. Of the 15 tornadoes, five were rated EF-2 and two were EF-3. Nine of the 15 tornadoes tracked over 10 miles, with the longest path being an EF-2 tornado that traversed 39.48 miles across Tuscaloosa and Walker counties, striking the town of Sipsey. An EF-3 tornado in Plantersville in Dallas County resulted in two fatalities and two injuries, while an EF-2 tornado in Winterboro in Talladega County had one fatality and one injury. The second EF-3 tornado struck Tallapoosa County, reaching peak intensity in Horseshoe Bend National Military Park. Near the end of the event, an EF-2 tornado moved across southern and eastern parts of Troy, with three injuries being documented.

The tornado formed and intensified quickly about two miles south|of Plantersville along County Road 63, uprooting swaths of trees|right from the start. The tornado travelled northward into|Plantersville and intensified to its maximum intensity of a|140 MPH EF3 tornado in the south end of town, where trees across|the entire area were uprooted, snapped, and even debarked.|Several homes and businesses were destroyed, which unfortunately|resulted in two fatalities and two injuries. The tornado began a|more northeasterly trajectory as it left Plantersville, but still|remained strong as it crossed into Autauga County.

A tornado entered far northwest Autauga County after producing EF-3 damage in Plantersville in Dallas County. Entire swaths|of hardwood trees were uprooted and snapped, and estimates were|given the maximum rating possible for tree fall/tree snap at|134 MPH. Had there been other damage indicators impacted, it is|quite likely that portions in Autauga would also have been rated|at the EF-3 level. The tornado continued northeastward into|Chilton County.

A tornado that first impacted parts of Dallas and Autauga counties continued into Chilton County. As it approached County Road 64, it broadened out|and produced another area of maximum value tree snaps, where|acres and acres of pine trees were snapped at 10 to 20 feet above|the ground. It next crossed US Highway 82, where two manufactured|homes had anchoring system failures and were vaulted and|completely destroyed, landing some 200 yards from their original|location. All the occupants were sheltered in a concrete shelter|and came through the storm physically unscathed. As the tornado|crossed Chilton CR 17, a well-built brick home had its roof|completely removed with some exterior wall failure. Again, the|occupant had made the conscious decision to shelter elsewhere|with family members in a basement. EF2-level damage occurred as|the tornado crossed CR 15 and CR 341. As the tornado crossed CR|76, a well-built home suffered damage when doors on the main|level were blown open, with the force of the breach causing|windows in an upper-level bedroom to blow out. A double wide|manufactured home at the back of the property was vaulted and|destroyed. From here, the tornado took a more easterly trajectory|and began to gradually weaken, causing mainly tree damage as it|crossed south central Chilton County, before dissipating in the|West End portion of the city of Clanton. The total path length of the tornado was 24.33 miles.

The deaths

2 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

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

12 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:38 UTC, 12 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 00:47 UTC and running to 04:24 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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 00:47 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.

Prattville (1A9), 41 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:46 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

49 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.