On November 24, 2001, Alabama experienced a record-setting outbreak of 36 tornadoes touching down across the state, a new record for tornadoes to ever occur on Alabama soil in one day.
This event in 2001 shattered the former state record of 27 tornadoes set on the date of the infamous “Day of the Killer Tornadoes” outbreak, April 3, 1974, before being broken again in April of 2011. Curiously, the November 2001 outbreak occurred outside of Alabama’s typical spring tornado season, during the state’s secondary tornado season in the fall.
The outbreak was fueled by a vast storm system, with a deep low-pressure center located over Iowa and a trailing cold front raking across the Tennessee Valley; a strong low-level jet helped force warm, moist air from the Gulf into the Southeast, creating a favorable environment for severe weather.
The outbreak began with a tornado that cut a 39-mile path from near Kennedy in Lamar County to just south of Carbon Hill in Walker County. Two people lost their lives when their mobile home was destroyed near Kennedy. Later, just before 11:30 a.m., an F2 tornado struck Haleyville in Winston County, injuring 13 people.
Another F2 tornado developed northeast of Birmingham, moving along I-59 near Argo and leaving a nearly 14-mile path across St. Clair County. The most intense tornado of the day hit about 1:19 p.m. CST southeast of Oneonta in Blount County, producing F4-level damage in three separate areas.
The day’s second fatalitie occurred near Sand Rock in Cherokee County around 3 p.m. An F2 tornado tracked an 8-mile path through the area, taking the lives of two people in a mobile home.
One of the most fortunate breaks of the day came when an F2 tornado formed near Pell City around 3:10 p.m. The twister weakened as it moved through downtown, causing only light structural damage. Had it remained stronger, the destruction and loss of life would have likely been much more severe.
All in all, four people were killed, and over seventy were injured.
