40 tornadoes touched down in Alabama in March 2021, across 31 counties. That is more than double the March average of 6.3 over the previous 30 years, and the most in any March since records began in 1950.
The busiest day was March 17, 2021, when 22 tornadoes crossed Autauga, Blount, Chilton and 11 other counties. Tornadoes also broke out on March 25, 2021 (10).
The strongest was an EF3 near Demopolis on March 25, 2021, with a 79.7-mile path up to 2,300 yards wide. 6 people were killed and 34 people injured over the month; the deadliest tornado struck near Pell City on March 25, 2021.
11 of the 40 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.
- 11:31 AM
EF0 near Livingston
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southern Sumter County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 75 mph. The tornado began and ended near the intersection of Walker Road and Highway 17.
- 11:32 AM
EF2 near Selma
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northeastern Dallas County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum winds near 115 mph. The tornado first touched down near Water Avenue just south of State Road 14, initially producing minor tree damage.
- 11:57 AM
EF1 near Livingston
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in east central Sumter County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 105 mph. A tornado touched down on the south side of Highway 28 East just west of Adams Drive.
- 12:24 PM
EF1 near Clanton
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Autauga County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph. A tornado touched down near Tom Turner Road where minor tree damage was noted.
- 12:56 PM
EF1 near Clanton
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Chilton County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 95 mph. A tornado touched down near County Road 484 and tracked north-northeast producing mainly tree damage along County Roads 491 and 97.
- 1:03 PM
EF0 near Demopolis
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in far northern Marengo County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 80 mph. The short-lived tornado began near Water Street and crossed Lock and Dam Road, dissipating before reaching the Tombigbee River.
- 1:12 PM
EF1 near Eutaw
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northwestern Hale County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 105 mph. A tornado touched down near Martin Slough Lake in a mostly inaccessible area just east of the Black Warrior River.
- 1:22 PM
EF1 in Marengo County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southern Marengo County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph. A tornado touched down south of the town of Sweet Water along County Road 6.
- 1:29 PM
EF0 near Sylacauga
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northwest Coosa County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 65 mph. The tornado began and ended around County Road 56.
- 2:09 PM
EF1 near Tuscaloosa
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Tuscaloosa County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph. A short-lived tornado touched down near Lake Wildwood, east of Cottondale.
- 2:25 PM
EF1 in Tuscaloosa County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Tuscaloosa County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 100 mph. The tornado touched down along Lock 17 Road near Warrior Met Coal.
- 2:44 PM
EF2 in Choctaw County
The tornado started on Sunlight Church Road in Wayne County, MS just west of the Choctaw County line.
- 2:54 PM
EF1 in Tuscaloosa County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northeastern Tuscaloosa County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 110 mph. A tornado touched down in rural Tuscaloosa county with numerous hardwood and softwood trees were snapped or uprooted.
- 3:11 PM
EF0 in Dallas County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southwest Dallas County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 65 mph. The tornado touched down near State Road 66, just east of County Road 109.
- 3:30 PM
EF1 near Hueytown
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in west Jefferson County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 110 mph. The tornado touched down along Crocker Road.
- 3:54 PM
EF0 in Marengo County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southern Marengo County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 65 mph. The tornado began near 3rd Avenue in Sweet Water and proceeded north crossing Highway 10.
- 3:56 PM
EF0 near Gardendale
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Jefferson County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 85 mph. A tornado touched down near Sutherland Road on the west side of Interstate 65 and tracked northeast crossing Interstate 65 and Highway 31.
- 4:12 PM
EF2 near Maplesville
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southwest Chilton County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum winds near 130 mph. A tornado touched down in an inaccessible area near Little Mulberry Creek northwest of Billingsley.
- 4:43 PM
EF1 near Oneonta
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Blount County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 100 mph. The tornado began near Tim King Road along Hunt Mountain.
- 7:35 PM
EF0 near Prattville
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Autauga County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 70 mph. This short-lived tornado touched down and dissipated near the intersection of County Road 43 and County Road 21.
- 8:31 PM
EF1 near Cullman
A tornado began north of CR1605, between CR 1609 and CR 1610. Initially, branches were broken, but the tornado began snapping tree trunks as it crossed CR 747 and CR 1630.
- 9:43 PM
EF0 in Montgomery County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Montgomery County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 80 mph. The short-lived tornado touched down on the east side of Highway 231 just north of County Road 72.
5 hours later
3:08 AMEF1 in Crenshaw County
The tornado first touched down at the corner of Glenwood Road and Melvin Wallace Road where it snapped an area of trees. The tornado then continued northeast across Nelvin Wallace Road where to reached peak intensity snapping several pines, uprooting several oak trees and removing the roof of an out building.
- 4:27 AM
EF1 near Dothan
The tornado first began east of Wicksburg and east of the Houston/Geneva county line where scattered tree limbs where reported by the emergency manager. The tornado then strengthened and hit several structures on a farm where damage was confined to ripped roof paneling and other similar damage.
- 4:49 AM
EF0 near Dothan
An EF0 tornado touched down in northwestern Houston County near Cedar Creek. Small trees and branches were snapped along Faulkner Rd and Suggs Rd. A carport on Suggs Rd sustained damage.
7 days later
11:16 AMEF3 in Hale County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern northeast Hale County and determined that it was consistent with an EF3 tornado, with maximum winds near 140 mph. The tornado initially began in a heavily wooded area northeast of Gabriel Creek Rd and tracked northeast.
- 11:53 AM
EF3 near Centreville
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northeast Bibb County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum winds near 115 mph. This tornado touched down formed along Highway 24 west of Highway 5.
- 12:35 PM
EF1 in Pickens County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southwest Pickens County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph. This tornado originated in Noxubee County, Mississippi and crossed the state line southwest of the intersection of Highway 17 and Highway 32.
- 1:31 PM
Ohatchee–Wellington tornado
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Calhoun County and determined that it was consistent with an EF3 tornado, with maximum winds near 140 mph. The tornado first touched down on Boiling Springs Road snapping and uprooting trees just north of Mitchellville Road.
- 2:57 PM
EF1 near Eutaw
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Greene County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 100 mph. This tornado touched down along County Road 174 and crossed Highway 14 between Clinton and Eutaw.
- 3:26 PM
EF3 near Demopolis
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Hale County and determined that it was consistent with an EF3 tornado, with maximum winds near 150 mph. A strong, long-track tornado traveled across Hale, Perry, Bibb, Chilton, and Shelby Counties during the afternoon of March 25, 2021.
- 3:48 PM
EF1 near Center Point
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Jefferson County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph.
- 6:13 PM
EF2 in Choctaw County
The tornado first touched down just west of the Tombigbee River and just south of Highway 10 in far eastern Choctaw county, AL. The tornado intensified rapidly upon touchdown and heavily damaged a single family home.
- 8:01 PM
EF2 near Clanton
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southeast Chilton County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum winds near 120 mph. The tornado first touched down along CR 495, just east of Clanton, with minor tree damage.
- 8:55 PM
EF2 near Alexander City
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in rural northern Tallapoosa County and determined it was consistent with an EF1 tornado with maximum winds near 95 mph.
2 days later
4:38 AMEF1 near Cullman
A tornado touched down southwest of the Fairview community in Cullman County, snapping trees near the intersection of CR 747 and 1621. From there, the tornado moved northeast and continued snapping numerous hard and softwood trees along the path.
3 days later
1:31 AMEF0 near Hamilton
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southern Marion County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 80 mph. The tornado began in a wooded area just north of Stakehouse Road where several large branches were broken.
- 2:45 AM
EF1 in Winston County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Winston County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 90 mph. The tornado began just west of County Road 146 where several large branches were broken from a pine tree.
- 4:44 AM
EF1 near Fort Payne
A tornado touched down just east of County Road 486 near County Road 603 where a few large limbs were broken and a house suffered minor roof damage. From there, the tornado traveled eastward where a row of chicken houses had part of their roofs removed.
- 7:15 AM
EF0 in Blount County
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southeast Blount County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 80 mph.
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