20 tornadoes touched down in Alabama in May 2024, across 11 counties. That is more than double the May average of 4.4 over the previous 30 years, and the most in a May since 2009.
The busiest day was May 8, 2024, when 11 tornadoes crossed DeKalb, Jackson, Lawrence and 2 other counties. Tornadoes also broke out on May 9, 2024 (5).
The strongest was an EF3 near Scottsboro on May 8, 2024, with a 12.3-mile path up to 880 yards wide. No deaths were reported; 7 people were injured.
17 of the 20 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.
- 7:11 PM
EF1 near Athens
A tornado touched down on Grace Hill Lane, producing a brief path of damage behind a house and into a wooded area northeast of the Grace Hill Farms Paintball Facility. Here, the tornado snapped and uprooted several large oak trees, with a width of 90 yards and wind speed of 105 mph.
- 7:23 PM
EF3 near Athens
A tornado touched down in a very remote portion of far northern Lawrence County near Melton Bluff. It moved across an agricultural field, causing minor damage to a large corn field. The tornado quickly intensified snapping off or uprooting a large forested area.
- 7:45 PM
EF1 near Athens
A tornado tornado touched down west of New Bethel Road, uprooting and snapping several large softwood trees and collapsing more than half of a private aircraft hangar.
- 8:07 PM
EF0 near Madison
A tornado touched down in the Hill Chase neighborhood on the west-facing slope of Rainbow Mountain. Several trees were uprooted in this neighborhood, with at least two trees on houses.
- 8:28 PM
EF2 near Huntsville
A tornado initially touched down on Walker Avenue NE as indicated by snapping of large branches and significant leaf litter. The tornado continued generally southeast resulting in several large trees uprooted between Walker Avenue NE and Randolph Avenue SE.
- 9:13 PM
EF0 near Scottsboro
A brief tornado touched down just before County Road 525, crossing County Road 30, before dissipating just shy of the railroad tracks north of Highway 35. A narrow path of hard and softwood tree damage was noted along this path, consistent with 85mph winds (EF0) damage.
- 9:32 PM
EF0 near Huntsville
A tornado began producing damage between Jordan Lane and Elton Road. Minor roof damage and downed large limbs were observed in this location. The tornado moved east, just south of Mastin Lake Rd, and crossed North Memorial Parkway.
- 9:34 PM
EF0 near Scottsboro
A tornado snapped tree branches on Old Larkinsville Road. Scattered tree damage was observed continuing generally southeast towards Alabama Highway 35. Limited infrastructure damage was found along Highway 35 including the peeling of metal roofing and siding.
- 9:40 PM
EF1 near Huntsville
A combination of NWS Storm Survey crews, drone imagery, and supplemental Worldview 3 satellite imagery determined that an EF-1 tornado tracked through southeast Huntsville just north of Governors Drive.
- 9:57 PM
EF3 near Scottsboro
A tornado touched down on Highway 71 in Jackson County, snapping hard and softwood trees to begin its path. The tornado continued between County Roads 425 and 322, producing minor damage to the roof of a small farm building.
- 11:02 PM
EF1 near Fort Payne
A tornado touched down on County Road 122, snapping and uprooting hard and softwood trees, just east of County Road 91. The tornado continued moving to the east-southeast, snapping and uprooting widespread trees along CR 122.
4 hours later
3:01 AMEF1 in Madison County
A tornado crossed the Tennessee state line from Lincoln County impacting western portions of Bevills Church Road northeast of Hazel Green, uprooting a large hardwood tree and breaking large branches.
- 3:06 AM
EF1 in Madison County
A tornado tracked from Lincoln County in Tennessee into far northeast Madison County. Before the tornado dissipated, it uprooted trees and snapped large branches along Old Winchester Road and Cox Run Lane.
- 3:31 AM
EF1 in Jackson County
A brief tornado touched down on a ridgetop northwest of Princeton, and then crossed a field as it uprooted and snapped trees before crossing County Road 508. At this location, numerous hardwood and softwood trees were knocked down.
- 3:37 AM
EF1 near Scottsboro
5 miles northwest of the intersection of Old Mill Creek Road and County Road 243. High resolution satellite imagery in this area indicated multiple trees were uprooted. The tornado continued southeast to just north of the intersection of County Road 243 and Alabama Highway 79.
- 4:08 AM
EF1 near Scottsboro
A tornado touched down on County Road 432 north of County Road 88 where several large limbs were snapped off of hardwood trees. The tornado then tracked south-southeast, just west of Pisgah, causing sparse tree limb damage before crossing County Road 372 and uprooting and snapping several trees near a residence.
21 hours later
1:03 AMEF2 in Monroe County
A unique, long track multi-vortex EF2 tornado occurred from just south-southwest of Midway, Alabama, tracking east-southeast through Georgiana, Alabama on the morning of May 10th, 2024. This tornado began south of Midway west of County Road 5 where it quickly intensified to EF2 strength after crossing this road.
- 3:02 AM
EF0 near Dothan
A tornado touched down along Hooper Cherry Road early on the morning of May 10th. Initial damage was to trees. J. Register Road, where significant damage to outbuildings was noted. The tornado continued southeastward, crossing Cottonwood Road near County Road 33.
17 days later
3:27 AMEF1 near Fort Payne
A brief EF1 tornado with winds up to 105 mph formed along the leading edge of a QLCS in northern Cherokee County. Minor timber damage began along County Road 768 near County Road 47. The tornado continued to down trees as it crossed County Road 43.
- 5:52 AM
EF1 in Randolph County
A brief EF1 tornado with winds up to 110 mph formed within a QLCS in northern Randolph County. The tornado began in a wooded area west of County Road 425 and began to snap tree branches and uproot trees.
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