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The January 24, 1997 Tuscaloosa Tornado

| January 24, 2010 @ 12:20 pm | 8 Replies

On the morning of Friday, January 24, 1997, a warm, relatively moist airmass covered Central Alabama. Temperatures were in the lower 60s early that winter morning. Dewpoints were right around 60F.

A warm front was over Louisiana, from near New Orleans to Shreveport. An 850 millibar low level jet was racing northeastward from southern Louisiana through central Mississippi and into Central Alabama. A 500 millibar wind max was found on the southeast side of an increasingly negative tilt trough that was progressing out o fthe Plains states.

By noon, a surface low was in a favorable position over the Missouri Bootheel. A cold front trailed southwestward into Northeast Texas. The warm front was surging northeastward into Southwest Alabama.

Just before 5 p.m., a tornado touched down just south of I-59 and west of highway 69. The tornado moved northeastward, passing near the intersection of Skyland and McFarland Boulevards. A Books a Million and a Gayfers suffered damage to their roofs. It crossed the interstate and intensified. Several homes were damaged in the Woodland Hills neighborhood. A 71-year-old retired physician was killed when a tree limb was propelled into the windshield of his pick-up truck. It was the first tornado fatality of the year in the U.S.

The tornado roared northeastward toward Five Points East, at the intersection of AL-215 and AL-216. The manager of the Food World store there saw the approaching tornado and ushered shoppers into the store. The F2 tornado tossed cars like toys. One was blown through the roof of the grocery store.

The tornado continued through the Lynn Haven, Tuscaloosa Memorial Gardens and Summerfield neighborhoods. It lifted north of Highway 216 around 5:15 p.m.

A tornado watch and severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for Tuscaloosa County. A tornado warning was issued at 5:11 p.m., as initial reports of the tornado began to come in.

The path length was ten miles. It was 200 yards wide. One fatality was reported, along with eight injuries.

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Bill Murray is the President of The Weather Factory. He is the site's official weather historian and a weekend forecaster. He also anchors the site's severe weather coverage. Bill Murray is the proud holder of National Weather Association Digital Seal #0001 @wxhistorian

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