Alabama’s Deadliest Tornadoes – Rewritten

Brian Peters | April 29, 2011 @ 6:45 am | 125 Replies

Record books are being rewritten in the wake of the deadly tornado spree across Alabama on April 27th. This post is likely to change with time as details and confirmed information becomes available.

National Weather Service (NWS) tornado data goes back a long way, however, the most reliable data starts at 1950. Data prior to 1950 is not as complete as data collected since 1950.

Here is a list of the 10 deadliest tornadoes in Alabama since 1950.

1.	Apr 27, 2011	Tusaloosa to Birmingham Tornado	64
2.	Apr 27, 2011	Hackelburg-Phil Campbell Tornado	48
3.	Apr 27, 2011	Dekalb County	32
3.	Apr 8, 1998	Oak Grove	32
4.	Apr 15, 1956	Jefferson County	25
5.	Apr 3, 1974	Marion County	23
6.	Mar 27, 1994	Goshen Tornado	22
6.	Apr 4, 1977	Smithfield Tornado	22
7.	Nov 15, 1989	Huntsville Tornado	21
8.	Apr 3, 1974	Lawrence County	14
8.	Apr 27, 2011	Cordova Tornado	14
8.	Apr 27, 2011	Lawrence County	14
9.	Apr 27, 2011	St. Clair County Tornado	13
10.	Dec. 16, 2000	Tuscaloosa Tornado	11
10.	Apr. 3, 1974	Limestone County Tornado	11

Remember, this is a work in progress which may require updating as additional information becomes available. All data comes from statistics compiled and maintained by the National Weather Service through Storm Data.

Note: Updated at 6:00 pm on April 29, 2011, with information provided by the Governor’s Office via the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

-Brian-

Photo of Cordova Tornado from future I-22 on Apr. 27, 2011 by Brian Peters

Category: Severe Weather

About the Author (Author Profile)

Brian Peters is one of the television meteorologists at ABC3340 in Birmingham and a retired NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist. He handles the weekend Weather Xtreme Videos and forecast discussion and is the Webmaster for the popular WeatherBrains podcast.