Tornadoes · United States · Alabama

Tornadoes in Clarke County, Alabama

47 tornadoes have crossed Clarke County since 1950, 2 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 27th of the 67 counties in Alabama with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.6 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 21. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

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

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
47
Deaths
0
Injuries
21
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, March 2, 1971

The strongest

  1. F3, Clarke County, AlabamaJanuary 23, 1953F3, 6.5 mi (10 km)
  2. F3, Clarke County, AlabamaMarch 2, 1971F3, 4.9 mi (8 km)
  3. EF2, Wayne, Choctaw, Clarke and Marengo counties, Mississippi and AlabamaMarch 17, 2021EF2, 36.6 mi (59 km)
  4. F2, Clarke County, AlabamaJuly 8, 1956F2, 31.1 mi (50 km)
  5. F2, Clarke County, AlabamaNovember 25, 1979F2, 28.6 mi (46 km)
  6. EF2, Clarke County, AlabamaDecember 25, 2012EF2, 24.8 mi (40 km)
  7. F2, Clarke County, AlabamaMay 19, 1983F2, 22.0 mi (35 km)
  8. EF2, Clarke and Washington counties, AlabamaFebruary 12, 2025EF2, 11.9 mi (19 km)
  9. EF2, Clarke County, AlabamaApril 5, 2022EF2, 9.5 mi (15 km)
  10. F2, Clarke County, AlabamaJanuary 19, 1963F2, 3.3 mi (5 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 30 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Clarke County. Each year links to every tornado in Alabama that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20262EF1
20253EF2
20231EF1
20223EF2
202122EF2
20201EF1
20191EF1
20171EF0
20142EF1
20132EF1
20121EF2
20113EF2
20061F0
20051F0
20041F1
20022F0
19991F0
1996416F1
19921F1
19911F0
19833F2
19802F1
197912F2
19711F3
19701F0
19631F2
19601F2
19571F1
19561F2
195311F3

Every tornado that crossed Clarke County

47 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Alabama. The 2 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 22, 202610:33 AM CDTEF1Clarke3.1100
May 22, 202610:52 AM CDTEF1Clarke2.2250
March 15, 20259:10 PM CDTEF0Clarke1.4200
March 15, 20258:48 PM CDTEF1Clarke13.9240
February 12, 20256:15 PM CSTEF2Clarke11.9650
March 26, 20236:24 PM CDTEF1Clarke1.7340
April 5, 20229:10 AM CDTEF1Clarke1.8100
April 5, 20229:03 AM CDTEF2Clarke9.5800
March 30, 202210:33 PM CDTEF1Clarke0.175
August 30, 20211:25 PM CDTEF1Clarke3.5150
March 17, 20213:44 PM CDTEF2Wayne to AL36.65002
April 12, 20209:16 PM CDTEF1Clarke0.8100
October 25, 20197:39 PM CDTEF1Clarke0.9100
June 21, 20178:35 PM CDTEF0Clarke0.125$25,000
November 17, 20141:37 AM CSTEF1Washington21.9150$250,000
April 28, 201412:15 AM CDTEF1Clarke0.3200$5,000
February 10, 20135:26 PM CSTEF1Clarke0.980$10,000
February 10, 20135:00 PM CSTEF1Washington14.3200$60,000
December 25, 20126:00 PM CSTEF2Clarke24.8150
November 16, 20119:00 AM CSTEF0Clarke0.350$5,000
April 15, 20119:20 PM CDTEF2Clarke0.3200$145,000
April 15, 201111:20 AM CDTEF1Clarke3.3500$102,000
May 10, 20066:08 PM CDTF0Clarke0.130$10,000
July 6, 20056:25 AM CDTF0Clarke0.530$10,000
November 24, 20044:35 AM CSTF1Clarke3.0100$200,000
December 24, 20023:20 AM CSTF0Clarke0.120$10,000
November 5, 200210:40 AM CSTF0Clarke0.120$10,000
April 15, 19992:00 AM CDTF0Clarke3.0150$100,000
March 18, 19965:45 PM CSTF1Clarke5.0200$30,000
March 18, 19965:30 PM CSTF0Clarke3.02001$70,000
March 18, 19965:30 PM CSTF1Clarke8.020015$1.0 million
March 18, 19965:00 PM CSTF1Clarke3.0250$50,000
April 20, 19921:28 PM CDTF1Clarke1.050$5,000 to $50,000
March 1, 199112:20 PM CSTF0Clarke0.310
December 3, 19835:40 PM CSTF1Clarke5.050$50,000 to $500,000
November 14, 19835:30 PM CSTF0Clarke0.150$500 to $5,000
May 19, 198310:25 AM CDTF2Clarke22.0100$5,000 to $50,000
March 17, 19801:00 PM CSTF1Clarke0.550$500 to $5,000
March 17, 19809:50 AM CSTF1Clarke0.250$5,000 to $50,000
November 25, 19799:40 AM CSTF2Clarke28.63002$50,000 to $500,000
March 2, 19719:20 PM CSTF3Clarke4.9100$50,000 to $500,000
July 4, 19704:35 PM CDTF0Clarke0.110$50 to $500
January 19, 19631:00 PM GMT-6F2Clarke3.310$500 to $5,000
June 15, 196011:00 PM GMT-5F2Clarke0.110
June 28, 19579:30 AM GMT-5F1Clarke7.4100$500 to $5,000
July 8, 19569:00 AM GMT-5F2Clarke31.110$500 to $5,000
January 23, 19535:00 AM GMT-6F3Clarke6.53001$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Clarke CountyThe forecast for Clarke CountyThe live radar over Clarke CountyEvery county in Alabama

What this means

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.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.