Tornado outbreak of December 16, 2000

On December 16, 2000, a destructive tornado outbreak hit the Southeastern United States, from Mississippi to North Carolina. The most significant tornado of the outbreak occurred in communities south and east of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The F4 tornado killed 11 people and injured more than 125 others; it was the strongest tornado to hit the state of Alabama in the month of December since 1950.

Tornado outbreak of December 2000
Damage to trees, homes, and trailers south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationDecember 16, 2000
Tornadoes
confirmed		24
Max. rating1F4 tornado
Duration of
tornado outbreak2		13 hours
Fatalities12 fatalities, 186 injuries
DamageUS$ 35 million[1]
Areas affectedDeep South, Southeastern United States
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Confirmed tornadoes
Outbreak death toll
State Total County County
total
Alabama 12 Geneva 1
Tuscaloosa 11
Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
0 10 3 9 1 1 0 24

December 16 event
List of confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, December 16, 2000[note 1]
F# Location County State Time (UTC) Path length Max width Summary
F2 Geneva Geneva AL 16:34–16:40 4.5 mi (7.2 km) 100 yd (91 m) 1 death – 100 homes were damaged and five mobile homes were destroyed in and around Geneva. Many trees were downed, and 15 vehicles were damaged or destroyed as well. The fatality occurred when a woman was thrown 75 yards (69 m) from her destroyed mobile home. Nine people were injured.
F2 W of Dothan to SW of Abbeville Houston, Dale, Henry AL 17:00–17:45 29 mi (47 km) 300 yd (270 m) In Houston County, five homes sustained minor roof damage, along with blown out windows and overturned lawn furniture. In Dale County, several homes in Doe Run subdivision in Pinckard were destroyed. Several other homes and businesses were damaged to varying degrees. A church annex in Midland City lost part of its roof and walls. After crossing into Henry County, the Murphy Feed & Seed warehouse, numerous peanut trailers, and two sheds were destroyed. A textile plant and numerous vehicles were heavily damaged as well. Numerous trees were downed along the path.
F2 NE of Meridian Lauderdale MS 17:30–17:45 12 mi (19 km) 440 yd (400 m) Two homes, three businesses, and thirteen mobile homes were destroyed while 44 homes, 34 mobile homes, and one business were damaged. Thousands of trees were downed, and numerous power poles were downed. There were 17 injuries reported, including one critical.
F1 NE of Courtland Lawrence, Limestone AL 18:25–18:31 5.1 mi (8.2 km) 40 yd (37 m) Several outbuildings and boat houses were destroyed, while three homes were damaged. The tornado crossed Wheeler Lake and dissipated just after entering Limestone County.
F2 NNW of Athens Limestone AL 18:38–18:44 4.8 mi (7.7 km) 60 yd (55 m) Three mobile homes were destroyed, and several frame homes were heavily damaged.
F4 SW of Tuscaloosa to SE of Cottondale Tuscaloosa AL 18:54–19:12 18 mi (29 km) 750 yd (690 m) 11 deaths – See section on this tornado – Seen live on WCFT-TV, tower camera. 144 people were injured.
F0 NE of Freeport Walton FL 18:55 0.2 mi (0.32 km) 50 yd (46 m) Several trees were downed.
F1 NE of Ardmore Lincoln TN 19:08–19:10 1.5 mi (2.4 km) 50 yd (46 m) An outbuilding was destroyed, a mobile home was heavily damaged (including loss of its roof), homes sustained minor roof damage, and the roof of a cinder block garage was turned about 90 degrees.
F2 SE of Bonifay Holmes FL 19:24–19:30 3 mi (4.8 km) 100 yd (91 m) Four mobile homes were destroyed, while eight businesses and 39 homes were damaged. Trees and power lines were downed as well.
F0 SE of Marion Perry AL 19:29–19:31 0.7 mi (1.1 km) 30 yd (27 m) Several trees were downed just north of Suttle.
F1 S of Graceville to SW of Campbellton Jackson FL 19:50–20:00 5 mi (8.0 km) 75 yd (69 m) Several mobile homes and carports were damaged, and numerous trees and power lines were downed.
F2 S of Ashville St. Clair AL 20:20–20:31 8.5 mi (13.7 km) 200 yd (180 m) Two mobile homes were destroyed, and four frame homes were damaged. A baseball park at Ashville High School was damaged as well. Two people were injured.
F3 NE of Gadsden Etowah, Cherokee AL 20:46–21:05 12.8 mi (20.6 km) 500 yd (460 m) Major damage occurred in the Coats Bend area in Etowah County, where 250 homes were either damaged or destroyed and fourteen people were injured. In Cherokee County, a few structures were damaged. Numerous trees were downed along the path.
F0 Southeast Bynum Calhoun AL 21:17–21:18 0.3 mi (0.48 km) 20 yd (18 m) Brief, weak tornado with no damage.
F2 W of Albany Dougherty GA 21:50–22:05 6 mi (9.7 km) 75 yd (69 m) Abigail Plantation was heavily affected, with the main house and several surrounding structures being damaged and hundreds of trees being downed. Several homes were damaged, as well as storage buildings at a trailer park, and power poles were downed, causing over 300 outages in northwest Albany.
F0 SW of Deatsville Autauga AL 22:55–22:56 0.2 mi (0.32 km) 20 yd (18 m) Brief tornado with no damage.
F0 S of Tallassee Macon AL 23:46 0.7 mi (1.1 km) 50 yd (46 m) Three homes sustained minor roof and window damage, and two outbuildings and two satellite dishes were destroyed. Several trees were downed as well.
F0 N of Roanoke Randolph AL 00:19 1 mi (1.6 km) 40 yd (37 m) Numerous trees were downed.
F2 ESE of Americus Sumter GA 02:30–02:42 10 mi (16 km) 100 yd (91 m) A wood-frame house was destroyed, with a second being damaged. Three barns and five outbuildings were destroyed, a large camper trailer was overturned, a high-tension power line tower was heavily damaged, and two cattle were killed. Several chicken houses were destroyed, with nearly 400 chickens being killed. Numerous trees and power lines were downed as well.
F0 NW of Calhoun Falls Abbeville SC 03:10 0.1 mi (0.16 km) 10 yd (9.1 m) A satellite dish was torn off a house by this brief tornado.
F0 Spring Lake Cumberland NC 05:00 0.1 mi (0.16 km) 25 yd (23 m) A tornado was observed from Pope Air Force Base; no damage was reported.
F2 S of Augusta Richmond GA 05:10–05:20 2 mi (3.2 km) 60 yd (55 m) This tornado caused extensive damage to a subdivision, along with homes and mobile homes elsewhere along the track. Eight people were injured, one seriously.
F0 SW of Lillington Harnett NC 05:10 0.1 mi (0.16 km) 25 yd (23 m) Windows were blown out of buildings by a brief tornado.
F0 N of Coats Harnett NC 05:15 0.1 mi (0.16 km) 25 yd (23 m) Trees and large tree limbs were downed, a few of which smashed car windows.
Source: NCDC Storm Data
  1. All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.

Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
F4 tornado
The tornado's track
Max. rating1F4 tornado
Fatalities11 fatalities; 144 injuries
Damage>$12 million (2000 USD)
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The tornado touched down just before 12:54 p.m. CST (18:54 UTC) near the Black Warrior River in southern Tuscaloosa County and proceeded northeastward for 18 miles (29 km) across the communities of Englewood, Hinton Place, Hillcrest Meadows, Bear Creek, and Woodland Forest. A tornado emergency was issued for the area before it lifted near Cottondale east of Tuscaloosa near the concurrent Interstate 20/59. At its peak intensity, the tornado was about 750 yards (690 m) wide. The worst damage was located near the Bear Creek and Hillcrest Meadows areas where F4 damage occurred, and homes were completely leveled. Near I-59/20, several commercial buildings including hotels and restaurants were heavily damaged and a shopping center near Highway 69 was also hit and partially destroyed. Damage was estimated at over $12 million. More than 40 houses and 70 mobile homes were completely destroyed, with hundreds more seriously damaged.[2]

It was the deadliest tornado to hit the state since the Birmingham F5 tornado that killed 32 people across portions of northwestern Jefferson County on April 8, 1998. That tornado started just northeast of Tuscaloosa during the evening hours, demolishing numerous structures south and west of the Birmingham metro area. Since records have been kept in 1950, the Tuscaloosa tornado is the third deadliest tornado in December, tied with an F4 tornado near Murphysboro, Illinois on December 18, 1957, and behind the Vicksburg, Mississippi F5 tornado on December 5, 1953, which killed 38 people, and the 2021 Western Kentucky tornado, which killed 58 people.

The tornado was part of a supercell thunderstorm that developed across Mississippi before traveling across Alabama, dropping more tornadoes in St. Clair and Etowah counties. Additional tornadoes were confirmed northwest of Birmingham and Jasper.

Tower Cam footage

The tornado was also captured live on the ABC affiliate WBMA/WCFT/WJSU (channels 58, 33, and 40, generally called "ABC 33/40") in Birmingham during a special severe weather bulletin with meteorologists James Spann, Mark Prater, and John Oldshue. The tornado was caught by the station's tower cam located just outside downtown Tuscaloosa along Interstate 59/20 at Woodland Road on US 82. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gave Spann an Emmy Award for the event. The tornado was followed from Englewood to just near its passage south of downtown Tuscaloosa when the reception was lost due to a torrential downpour.

See also

References
  1. NCDC Storm Events Database Archived April 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine Accessed May 7, 2008.
  2. NCDC: Event Details
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.