Tornadoes · United States · Alabama

Tornadoes in Pickens County, Alabama

55 tornadoes have crossed Pickens County since 1950, 16th of the 67 counties in Alabama with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.4 years. They have killed 83 people and injured 818. 3 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 1 at the top of the scale.

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
55
Deaths
83
Injuries
818
F4 and above
3
Worst on record
F5, March 3, 1966

The deadliest in Pickens County

  1. F5 Jackson tornado, Mississippi and AlabamaMarch 3, 196658 killed, 518 injured
  2. EF4 Cordova tornado, AlabamaApril 27, 201113 killed, 54 injured
  3. F4 Jasper tornado, AlabamaApril 3, 19743 killed, 178 injured
  4. EF2, Pickens County, AlabamaJanuary 11, 20203 killed, 7 injured
  5. F3, Pickens, Lamar, Fayette and Walker counties, AlabamaNovember 24, 20012 killed, 1 injured
  6. F3, Pickens County, AlabamaMarch 12, 19862 killed
  7. EF3, Kemper, Noxubee and Pickens counties, Mississippi and AlabamaApril 11, 20131 killed, 9 injured
  8. F1, Winston, Oktibbeha, Noxubee, Lowndes and Pickens counties, Mississippi and AlabamaNovember 10, 20021 killed

The strongest

  1. F5 Jackson tornado, Mississippi and AlabamaMarch 3, 1966F5, 202.5 mi (326 km)
  2. EF4 Cordova tornado, AlabamaApril 27, 2011EF4, 127.8 mi (206 km)
  3. F4 Jasper tornado, AlabamaApril 3, 1974F4, 110.6 mi (178 km)
  4. EF3, Kemper, Noxubee and Pickens counties, Mississippi and AlabamaApril 11, 2013EF3, 66.3 mi (107 km)
  5. F3, Pickens, Lamar, Fayette and Walker counties, AlabamaNovember 24, 2001F3, 38.9 mi (63 km)
  6. EF3, Kemper, Sumter and Pickens counties, Mississippi and AlabamaApril 27, 2011EF3, 23.7 mi (38 km)
  7. EF3, Pickens and Tuscaloosa counties, AlabamaApril 27, 2011EF3, 22.5 mi (36 km)
  8. F3, Pickens and Tuscaloosa counties, AlabamaApril 8, 1998F3, 19.5 mi (31 km)
  9. F3, Pickens County, AlabamaMarch 12, 1986F3, 16.0 mi (26 km)
  10. F3, Pickens County, AlabamaMarch 3, 1952F3, 3.3 mi (5 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 34 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Pickens County. Each year links to every tornado in Alabama that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20253EF2
20221EF1
20211EF1
2020337EF2
20191EF0
201716EF2
201661EF2
201415EF2
2013119EF3
201151356EF4
20092EF1
20082EF1
20054F0
20031F1
200221F1
2001121F3
199831F3
19961F1
199217F2
19911F0
19901F0
19881F1
198612F3
19841F2
19831F0
19781F1
19761F2
197413178F4
19671F1
1966158518F5
1965118F3
19631F2
195715F1
195216F3

Every tornado that crossed Pickens County

55 tornadoes, newest first. 9 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Alabama.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 15, 20254:32 PM CDTEF2Pickens21.6950
March 15, 20253:08 PM CDTEF1Greene26.51,200
January 5, 20258:53 PM CSTEF1Pickens6.9300
March 30, 20229:02 PM CDTEF1Pickens16.6450
March 25, 20211:35 PM CDTEF1Noxubee to AL6.6515
April 12, 20204:18 PM CDTEF0Pickens5.5300
April 12, 20204:01 PM CDTEF0Pickens1.5200
January 11, 202011:11 AM CSTEF2Pickens6.31,05637
February 23, 20195:44 PM CSTEF0Pickens1.1200
August 31, 20173:40 PM CDTEF2Pickens31.26006
November 29, 20167:15 PM CSTEF1Pickens5.3600
March 31, 20166:43 PM CDTEF1Pickens2.9350
March 31, 20166:18 PM CDTEF1Lowndes to AL7.8600$225,000
February 23, 20164:22 PM CSTEF0Pickens4.8150
February 2, 201611:02 PM CSTEF0Pickens4.21,400
February 2, 20164:34 PM CSTEF2Pickens26.21,2001
April 28, 20146:38 PM CDTEF2Lowndes to AL14.35005$500,000
April 11, 201311:35 AM CDTEF3Kemper to AL66.31,32019$1.2 million
April 27, 20113:47 PM CDTEF3Kemper to AL23.71,0562$3.1 million
April 27, 20113:40 PM CDTEF4Cordova tornado127.81,4081354$170 million
April 27, 20114:41 AM CDTEF3Pickens22.5704$741,000
April 27, 20114:27 AM CDTEF2Pickens14.41,232$1.8 million
April 27, 20114:03 AM CDTEF2Kemper to AL35.21,410$3.2 million
May 6, 20098:31 AM CDTEF1Pickens1.3100$50,000
May 6, 20098:20 AM CDTEF1Pickens1.0300$50,000
January 10, 20083:43 PM CSTEF1Pickens2.0100$55,000
January 10, 20083:10 PM CSTEF0Pickens0.050$10,000
September 25, 20053:39 PM CDTF0Pickens0.325$2,000
September 25, 20052:04 PM CDTF0Pickens5.230$4,000
April 6, 20055:51 PM CDTF0Pickens1.550$50,000
March 13, 20059:54 PM CSTF0Pickens7.0150$180,000
April 25, 200311:57 AM CDTF1Pickens0.150$100,000
November 10, 20027:36 PM CSTF1Lowndes to AL9.5400$20,000
November 10, 20027:20 PM CSTF1Winston to AL51.04001$140,000
November 24, 200110:55 AM CSTF3Pickens38.930021$1.4 million
May 9, 19987:20 PM CDTF0Pickens6.570$40,000
May 9, 19987:09 PM CDTF0Pickens2.250$50,000
April 8, 19987:01 PM CDTF3Pickens19.53001$820,000
April 14, 19965:38 PM CDTF1Pickens0.575$200,000
November 22, 19923:30 AM CSTF2Pickens2.01277$500,000 to $5 million
April 12, 19918:00 PM CDTF0Pickens0.310$50,000 to $500,000
February 3, 19906:35 PM CSTF0Pickens0.520$5,000 to $50,000
May 16, 19888:25 PM CDTF1Pickens0.550$5,000 to $50,000
March 12, 19862:15 PM CSTF3Pickens16.07002$500,000 to $5 million
November 10, 19841:06 PM CSTF2Pickens14.0400$50,000 to $500,000
December 11, 19835:00 PM CSTF0Pickens3.0100$5,000 to $50,000
December 8, 19783:45 PM CSTF1Pickens1.050$5,000 to $50,000
March 20, 197610:05 PM CSTF2Pickens0.530$5,000 to $50,000
April 3, 19746:35 PM CDTF4Jasper tornado110.65003178$5 million to $50 million
March 6, 19672:30 PM GMT-6F1Pickens0.110$5,000 to $50,000
March 3, 19666:30 PM GMT-6F5Jackson tornado202.590058518$5 million to $50 million
February 11, 19656:40 PM GMT-6F3Pickens1.510018$50,000 to $500,000
March 11, 19632:00 PM GMT-6F2Pickens0.1440$5,000 to $50,000
November 8, 19572:25 AM GMT-6F1Pickens8.7105$50,000 to $500,000
March 3, 19521:10 PM GMT-6F3Pickens3.34406$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Pickens CountyThe forecast for Pickens CountyThe live radar over Pickens 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.