EF1 tornado, Lake Mitchell to Weogufka, 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 mphthis tornado

   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

EF1

Date

March 15, 2025

Touchdown

9:33 PM CDT (02:33 UTC)

Lifted

9:50 PM CDT (02:50 UTC)

On the ground

17 minutes

Path length

12.0 miles (19.3 km)

Path width

200 yards (183 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Coosa County

Touchdown point

32.909, -86.450

Lift-off point

32.997, -86.272

Record number

2503152033-01

25 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.

• Several trees downed at the end of Meadowview Cir.
• Start point estimated using Sentinel-2 data.
• Extensive tree damage via Sentinel-2 data.
• Trees snapped and uprooted

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.

National Weather Service Meteorologists surveyed damage in rural|southwestern Coosa County and determined that the damage was|consistent with a tornado. The tornado began over the Coosa|Wildlife Management area in extreme southwestern Coosa County,|just east of the Coosa River based on satellite imagery. |Unfortunately, that area of the county was not accessible by the|survey crew. The first area of damage that was accessible|occurred just southwest of County Road 15, where numerous trees|were snapped and uprooted. The tornado continued northeast,|crossing CC Camp Road, where weak tree damage was noted. The|tornado intensified as it moved northeast and crossed County Road|29. The most extensive damage was found at this location, where|numerous trees were snapped and a double-wide manufactured home|was destroyed. No anchors were found where the manufactured home|originally stood. Farm outbuildings at the same residence were|also destroyed, along with roof damage to surrounding homes.|Winds were estimated at 110 mph at this location. Although|difficult to access, EF-0 and EF-1 tree damage was noted farther|to the northeast along County Roads 56 and 18. With areas farther|northeast inaccessible and no damage noted along US Highway 231,|the end point was estimated just beyond County Road 18.

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

32 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 02:01 UTC, 32 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 03:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 00:47 UTC and running to 04:52 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.

Sylacauga (SCD), 25 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 45 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:34 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.