EF1 tornado, Cowarts to Headland Municipal Arpt, Alabama, May 25, 2026

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, as surveyed

EF1, preliminary

Date

May 25, 2026

Touchdown

7:20 PM CDT (00:20 UTC)

Lifted

7:49 PM CDT (00:49 UTC)

On the ground

29 minutes

Path length

11.2 miles (17.9 km)

Path width

200 yards (183 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Houston and Henry counties

Touchdown point

31.203, -85.319

Lift-off point

31.358, -85.271

Highest wind the damage implies

105 mph

Surveyed by

NWS TAE

Survey last edited

August 27, 2026

Record number

None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

The tornado initially touched down just north of U.S. 84 near Cowarts in Houston County, damaging trees and outbuildings. A pool screen was damaged at a home along Omussee Road, with additional tree and minor damage to homes. The tornado damaged the WDHN television station as it crossed Highway 52, breaking windows and damaging the roof. The tornado continued north-northeast downing trees and causing minor structural damage before moving into Henry County at County Road 22 and Buckhead Drive. The most severe damage was along County Road 15 where two homes were heavily damage. One home was destroyed. This home separated from the concrete foundation, slid, and then collapsed. Assessment is ongoing regarding the rating at this location. All other damage is consistent with an EF1 tornado with maximum winds of approximately 105 mph.

Written by NWS TAE in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.

39 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 110 mph.

• Numerous smaller trees snapped.
• Leaks visible inside WDHN building.
• Sign had just been refurbished
• Sill plates tied to foundation with metal straps instead of bolts. Straps fails and house partially shifted off foundation. Some evidence of garage door failure as well.

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

Scattered thunderstorms occurred ahead of a frontal boundary on May 22-25. However, on May 25, a mesoscale convective system developed west of the area and enhanced the low level wind field. This resulted in two tornadoes across the tri-state area. One tornado affected the Villa Tasso area in Walton county in Florida, and the other tornado affected Houston and Henry counties in Alabama. Both tornadoes were rated EF1.

The tornado initially touched down just north of U.S. 84 near Cowarts in Houston County, damaging trees and outbuildings. A pool screen was damaged at a home along Omussee Road, with additional tree and minor damage to homes. The tornado damaged the WDHN television station as it crossed Highway 52, breaking windows and damaging the roof. The tornado continued north-northeast downing trees and causing minor structural damage before moving into Henry County at County Road 22 and Buckhead Drive. The most severe damage was along County Road 15 where two homes were heavily damage. One home was destroyed. This home separated from the concrete foundation, slid, and then collapsed. The damage is consistent with an EF1 tornado with maximum winds of approximately 105 mph.

The tornado initially touched down just north of U.S. 84 near Cowarts in Houston County, damaging trees and outbuildings. A pool screen was damaged at a home along Omussee Road, with additional tree and minor damage to homes. The tornado damaged the WDHN television station as it crossed Highway 52, breaking windows and damaging the roof. The tornado continued north-northeast downing trees and causing minor structural damage before moving into Henry County at County Road 22 and Buckhead Drive. The most severe damage was along County Road 15 where two homes were heavily damage. One home was destroyed. This home separated from the concrete foundation, slid, and then collapsed. The damage is consistent with an EF1 tornado with maximum winds of approximately 105 mph.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

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. The outlook in force was issued at 19:39 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), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:20 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 2026 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are

1 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.

NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.