Image Credit: The Tuscaloosa News
On December 16, 2000, a powerful tornado outbreak of a total of 24 tornadoes struck the Southeastern United States, stretching from Mississippi to North Carolina. The most devastating tornado of the event struck the southern areas of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This F4 tornado claimed 11 lives and left over 125 people injured. It was the most intense tornado to hit Alabama in December since 1950.
The Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado touched down just before 12:54 p.m. CST near the Black Warrior River in southern Tuscaloosa County, then tracked northeast for 18 miles, passing through the communities of Englewood, Hinton Place, Hillcrest Meadows, Bear Creek, and Woodland Forest. A tornado emergency was issued for the area before the tornado lifted near Cottondale, east of Tuscaloosa, near the junction of Interstate 20/59.
The tornado was approximately 750 yards wide at its peak. The most severe damage occurred near Bear Creek and Hillcrest Meadows, where F4-level destruction completely leveled homes. Along the I-59/20 corridor, several commercial buildings, including hotels and restaurants, were severely damaged, and a shopping center near Highway 69 was partially destroyed. Damage was estimated to exceed $12 million, with more than 40 homes and 70 mobile homes completely destroyed and hundreds more sustaining significant damage.
This tornado became the deadliest to hit Alabama since the Birmingham F5 tornado of April 8, 1998, which claimed 32 lives in northwestern Jefferson County. It was the third deadliest December tornado since 1950, tied with an F4 tornado near Murphysboro, Illinois, on December 18, 1957. It ranks behind the Vicksburg, Mississippi, F5 tornado of December 5, 1953, which killed 38 people, and the Western Kentucky EF4 tornado of December 10, 2021, which caused 57 deaths.
The tornado was part of a supercell thunderstorm system that initially formed in Mississippi, then moved across Alabama, producing additional tornadoes in St. Clair and Etowah counties. There were a few tornadoes in the Tennessee Valley that day, including an F-2 in Limestone County on the northwest side of Athens.
Image Credit: National Weather Service Birmingham, AL
Around the same time the storms in central Alabama were going, a few tornadoes occurred in our area. An F-1 touched down at 12:30 pm and stayed on the ground for approximately half a mile in extreme northeast Lawrence County, AL, before rapidly dissipating as it hit the northern bank of the Tennessee River in Limestone County.
A picture of the Lawrence County / Limestone County, AL F-1 tornado as it touched down on the north side of the Tennessee River.
The second and largest tornado to touch down in Limestone County that day began just over 5 miles Northwest of Athens. The twister would lift after being on the ground for about 4.8 miles. The tornado caused severe damage to several houses and destroyed three mobile homes.
Image 1: Limestone County F-2 track Northwest of Athens | Image 2: Lawrence/Limestone county F-1 track
