7 tornadoes touched down in Alabama in December 2021, across 8 counties. That is more than double the December average of 3 over the previous 30 years, and the most in a December since 2019.
The busiest day was December 29, 2021, when 4 tornadoes crossed Chilton, DeKalb, Etowah and 3 other counties.
The strongest was an EF1 near Vernon on December 29, 2021, with a 17.5-mile path up to 300 yards wide. No deaths or injuries were reported.
3 of the 7 touched down at night, between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Tornadoes by day
Tornado by tornado
As they happened, with notes from the damage surveys.
- 9:05 AM
Unrated tornado near Hartselle
A weak tornado briefly touched down along Huckaby Bridge Road, just northwest of Falkville, Alabama. A few large branches were blown down along WD Harvey Road. The tornado continued to the east-southeast and caused damage to a farm building on Fricke Road, before lifting.
4 days later
4:12 PMEF0 near Wetumpka
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Elmore County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 70 mph. A brief tornado occurred on the northern side of Albritton Lane just northeast of Montgomery and southeast of Wetumpka.
19 days later
6:27 PMEF1 near Vernon
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Lamar County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 75 mph. The tornado touched down southwest of the town of Beaverton near Highway 77, about one-quarter of a mile north of Highway 278.
- 8:21 PM
EF1 near Scottsboro
An EF-1 tornado with maximum winds of 104 mph touched down just east of County Road 120, where a small outbuilding was destroyed. The tornado moved in an easterly direction, uprooting several trees as it crossed S.
- 9:02 PM
EF0 near Gadsden
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southern Etowah County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 75 mph.
- 10:01 PM
EF1 near Calera
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Chilton County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 110 mph. The tornado touched down just west of County Road 33, a few miles south of the Chilton and Shelby County line.
2 days later
2:49 PMEF1 near Fort Payne
A tornado briefly touched down in Mt Vernon, Alabama in southern Dekalb County. It crossed County Road 83 just south of Lookout Mountain Parkway and moved through a mobile home park where several homes sustained roof damage and one mobile home was flipped.
In the news
Coverage from 7 outlets.