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Dale County, AL

Date Time (LST) F/EF-Scale Length (Miles) Maximum Width (Yards) Fatalities Injuries Property Damage Source*
4/19/1893 1100 pm F2 n/a 300 0 1 n/a G

About 20 buildings, including homes, churches, and businesses, were unroofed or torn apart at Midland City. Nationally publicized rumors of seven deaths were probably unfounded.

4/5/1907 400 pm F2 15 n/a 1 20 n/a G

Moved NE through "Central City," 5m S of Enterprise, destroying most of the village, and passing north of Clayhatchee.

3/15/1912 300 am F3 30 n/a 8 50 n/a G

Moved NE from near Hartford, passing Wicksburg, and through Headland. The worst damage occurred at Headland, where 92 buildings, including 25 homes, were damaged or destroyed, and five people were killed. One person was killed and 26 were injured at Hartford.

5/20/1935 1030 am F2 5 75 3 0 $16,000 G

Moved NE, destroying several barns but only one home, 2m E of Midland City. Three members of a family were killed when their home was "carried 150 yards and dashed to the ground."

1/18/1936 600 pm F2 2 75 1 7 n/a G

One person died as five homes were destroyed in a brief touchdown at Skipperville. A woman was pulled from the wreckage but died in a hospital, and her son may also have died.

3/24/1937 1045 am F2 0.1 20 2 0 n/a G

Moved NE, destroying one small home near Ozark. The bodies of the dead couple were found 250 yards from the foundation. Neighbors "heard an explosion." Pines trees, 30 yards from the home, were "intact."

4/16/1954 800 am F2 16 100 0 1 $25,000 G, SD

Skipped NE from Enterprise to Ozark. The tornado touched down breifly 2m E of Enterprise and 3m E of Ozark. One large and three small barns were destroyed. Two of the barns were "blasted" from their foundations, and one was "leveled."

10/16/1955 640 pm F2 15 100 0 5 $2,500,000 G, SD

Skipped E from near Elba to New Brockton, NE of Enterprise, and to the south of Ozark. Two barns were destroyed NE of Enterprise. Two homes were unroofed 3m S of Ozark.

1/23/1968 430 pm F1 11.8 200 0 0 $250,000 SD, SPC
1/13/1972 100 am F2 5 100 4 88 $250,000 G, SD, SPC

Moved NE from 3m E of Enterprise, to Fort Rucker, and Lake Tholocco. Striking two trailer parks near the fort, this tornado destroyed 68 trailers, 15 cars, and damaged other trailers and cars as well. All deaths and injuries were army dependents. Touching down again at Fort Rucker, it damaged two buildings and 15 helicopters.

5/25/1973 107 pm F1 1 400 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC
12/29/1973 425 pm F3 6 67 0 0 $2,500,000 G, SD, SPC

Moved ENE from west of Enterprise, north of Coppinville, to Fort Rucker. A subdivision and trailer park were struck in the Enterprise area. Eight homes were totally destroyed and 23 others received lesser damage. Seven trailers and a gas station were also damaged or destroyed.

12/30/1973 458 pm F3 1.5 120 0 14 $1,000,000 G, SD, SPC

Moved NE from Fort Rucker to Ozark. This was Fort Rucker's second tornado in two days. Fort Rucker received much heavier damage from this tornado than the storm the previous day. It passed through a complex of government buildings and a residential area, causing heavy damage to 30 homes and buildings. Five were totally demolished. In Ozark, four trailers were destroyed and another was damaged.

4/4/1974 325 pm F0 0.1 10 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC
3/5/1984 1249 pm F2 8 50 0 14 $25,000,000 G, SD, SPC

Moved NE from Fort Rucker to Ozark. A trailer park and a shopping center were hit. Ten trailers were destroyed, as were five houses. There was extensive damage at the shopping center. Most of the 11 people injured there were in a department store whose roof collapsed. One business was destroyed, 18 had major damage, and 31 had minor damage.

5/3/1984 1149 am F0 0.1 10 0 0 n/a SD, SPC
5/3/1984 1155 am F2 5.5 200 0 0 $25,000 G, SD, SPC

Moved NE from near Hwy-134 to east of Midland City. This tornado passed across the Dale County High School campus. It struck and destroyed a concrete block building that housed the weight room. The students had taken shelter in hallways, and were unhurt. One house was destroyed, and others had roof damage.

11/25/1986 948 pm F3 8 200 0 1 $2,500,000 G, SD, SPC

Moved NE at New Brockton, Ariton, Elamville, Clio, and Clayton. In the New Brockton area, a church, three houses and two other buildings were destroyed and another church and 17 homes were damaged. Two trailers were destroyed at Ariton, and six were destroyed at Elamville. Four houses and a business building were also destroyed at Elamville.

11/26/1986 156 am F1 13 150 0 0 $250,000 SD, SPC
9/16/1988 1204 pm F1 4 50 0 0 n/a SD, SPC
10/24/1997 1000 am F1 0.3 75 0 0 $150,000 SD, SPC

A small F1 tornado destroyed a barn on Alabama Highway 92. A neighboring house sustained minor damage. Several trees were uprooted.

10/24/1997 1030 am F1 0.5 100 0 0 $1,000,000 SD, SPC

F1 tornado struck a chicken farm at Alabama Highway 27 and Dale County Road 67. Six of eight chicken houses were destroyed. Approximately 25,000 chickens were killed.

10/25/1997 537 pm F0 0.2 50 0 0 n/a SD, SPC

A brief F0 tornado touchdown south of Alabama Highway 84 near Daleville.

12/24/1997 725 am F1 1.5 150 0 4 $250,000 SD, SPC

Tornado touchdown in Currytown community trailer park along Dale County Road 49, Dean Road, and Alabama 134 between Pinckard and Midland City. Three mobile homes were destroyed and four were heavily damaged. 16-18 residences sustained structural damage. Six barns were leveled and four were damaged. Numerous large trees and power poles down.

9/28/1998 230 pm F0 0.3 30 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC

An F0 tornado briefly touched down on the north side of Ozark off Marvin Parker Rd and CR 68 uprooting trees and power poles.

9/28/1998 734 pm F0 0.3 40 0 0 $150,000 SD, SPC

An F0 tornado briefly touched down at the intersection of CR 40 and 7 near the Dale-Henry County line. Numerous trees were uprooted and a pump house was destroyed.

12/16/2000 1108 am F2 17 300 0 0 $2,000,000 SD, SPC

The F0 tornado moved northeast from extreme western Houston County into southeast Dale County. It rapidly intensified to an F2 tornado as it continued its intermittent track into the eastern portion of the county. A Midland City church annex lost parts of its roof and walls. Several homes in the Doe Run Subdivision south of Pinckard were destroyed and numerous others were damaged. In Pinckard, numerous trees and power lines were down. Many homes and businesses were damaged, some seriously. The tornado tracked northeast into western Henry County. Reported by the Dale County EMA.

11/25/2001 1212 am F1 2 100 0 25 $3,000,000 SD, SPC

A strong F1 tornado touched down just southwest of Daleville, near the northwest corner of Cairns Army Airfield at Fort Rucker. Several maintenance buildings sustained minor roof damage. One aircraft suffered minor damage from flying sheet metal. The tornado tracked northeast into Daleville and damaged 25 businesses along Highway 85, including a church, gas station, two supermarkets, a bank and several homes. It destroyed a restaurant and two industrial park buildings. The tornado lifted the roof off of the Daleville Inn and Landing Zone Lounge, causing its walls to collapse. Of the 125 patrons inside, 23 suffered minor injuries and two serious injuries. One restaurant was destroyed. Nearly 40 businesses and 1,000 residential customers lost power after the tornado toppled numerous power poles. The intersection of Highways 85 and 134 in Daleville was closed and a curfew was imposed for 24 hours. Fort Rucker damage surveyed by an off-duty Air Force meteorologist and Daleville damage surveyed by the NWS.

11/25/2001 1230 am F1 0.1 100 0 2 $75,000 SD, SPC

An F1 tornado touched down just south of Ewell and destroyed a double wide mobile home. Its two occupants were seriously injured. Damage surveyed by the NWS.

11/5/2002 515 pm F1 2 100 0 3 $150,000 SD, SPC

A tornado touched down just north of the intersection of County Road 69 and Highway 27 in northeast Dale County. It damaged several homes, an automobile, and several storage sheds. Three people suffered minor injuries. Two goats were killed by the flying debris. Dale County was declared a state disaster area. Reported by the Dale County EMA.

1/13/2006 1200 pm F0 1 50 0 0 $500,000 SD, SPC

A severe thunderstorm spawned a weak tornado which heavily damaged four chicken houses. It also damaged a rental house on the northeast side of County Road 1. Debris was strewn across a field east of County Road 1. Power lines were down across U.S. Highway 84. Residents along Joe Bruer Road, northeast of the chicken houses, reported broken tree limbs. Reported by the Dale County EMA.

1/7/2007 750 pm F0 0.5 50 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC

A weak tornado touched down briefly near Marley Mill. It damaged two structures and uprooted several trees on Marley Mill Road.

3/1/2007 148 pm EF1 7.1 150 0 4 $2,500,000 SD, SPC

The tornado touched down southwest of the community of Echo and traveled northeast along State Road 27 before it crossed into western Henry County. The damage assessment indicated that the EF-1 damaged 24 mobile homes and destroyed five others. Four residents of a mobile home were injured when the tornado damaged their mobile home. The tornado also demolished 18 chicken houses, whcih killed 140,000 chickens. The tornado's path missed the Ft Rucker, Alabama WSR-88D RDA site by less than a quarter mile. Numerous trees and utility poles were snapped. Dale County was declared a federal disaster area.

8/25/2008 720 am EF1 0.4 75 0 0 $30,000 SD, SPC

A tornado touched down near the intersection of County Roads 19 and 15, about three miles northwest of Skipperville. Several trees were uprooted and a barn was heavily damaged.

10/8/2008 1115 am EF0 1.1 75 0 0 $150,000 SD, SPC

The same supercell which spawned the EF1 tornado in Enterprise moved to the east-northeast and produced a brief tornado on the southwest side of the Fort Rucker military base, near the intersection of Andrews Avenue and Airport Road. It damaged several vehicles and a few homes, and downed numerous trees before it lifted. The tornado was rated an EF0 with winds estimated from 75 to 80 mph.

10/8/2008 1125 am EF0 2.4 75 0 0 $50,000 SD, SPC

The parent supercell which spawned the EF0 and EF1 tornadoes, produced another tornado about 5 miles south of Ozark near Logan Road, where it tore the roof off a barn and a home. It then moved east-northeast toward State Road 123 before lifting. The tornado was rated an EF0 with winds estimated at 80 mph.

10/8/2008 1217 pm EF0 0.4 50 0 0 n/a SD, SPC

The same supercell that spawned the tornado north of Wicksburg in western Houston County produced a brief EF0 tornado just east of Pinckard in southeastern Dale County. No damage was reported.

12/14/2009 425 pm EF0 0.15 50 0 0 0 SD, SPC

The same supercell thunderstorm which spawned the F0 tornado southeast of Java in Coffee County moved east and produced another F0 tornado near Rocky Head in Dale County. It downed numerous trees just northwest of the town.

12/25/2009 527 pm EF0 1.75 50 0 0 0 SD, SPC

An EF0 tornado touched down in northwestern Dale county near the Highway 231 Pea River Bridge and traveled northeastward into Pike County. In Dale county, trees were twisted and partially snapped, but no structural damage occurred. In Pike county, the tornado strengthened to EF1, but the Dale county portion of this tornado was rated EF0.

1/4/2015 627 am EF0 1.50 50 0 0 $10,000 SD

Minor damage to structures occurred from an EF0 tornado in the Pinckard area. There was also a small tornadic debris signature (TDS) seen on dual-pol radar. Monetary damage was estimated.

1/4/2015 630 am EF0 0.02 50 0 0 $5,000 SD

A brief EF0 tornado touched down near Dale County High School, damaging some structures around the baseball field. Monetary damage was estimated.

2/23/2016 1028 pm EF0 1.79 200 0 0 $0 SD

This is the Dale county segment of the second tornado to develop in northwest Houston county, spawned by the same parent thunderstorm. After initially developing in Houston county, the tornado crossed into extreme southeast Dale county before moving back into Houston county in the Murphy Mill Road area. This tornado was rated EF0 for the Dale portion of the track as the only EF1 damage found was found in Houston county. 

4/22/2018 1211 pm EF0 1.18 100 0 0 $1,000 SD

An EF0 tornado touched down at Ft. Rucker. Large tree limbs and small trees were broken or uprooted along the path. A wooden dugout structure at a baseball field was also damaged along with power lines. The tornado touched down near Kingsman Street and Andrews Avenue and moved north-northwest, lifting near Baker Street. Max winds were estimated near 75 mph with a width of 100 yards.

4/19/2020 1020 pm EF1 12.80 150 0 0 $100,000 SD

An EF1 tornado touched down in Ozark and tracked east into Henry county. Max winds were estimated at 105 mph. Most of the damage was snapped trees and some roof damage in Ozark.

8/31/2021 514 pm EF1 0.65 125 0 0 $100,000 SD

A tornado touched down on the ground of Dale County High School , damaging aluminum bleachers and one dugout. The tornado crossed County Road 59 and caused roof damage to numerous roofs in the adjacent neighborhood. Video on social media showed several trampolines being lofted into the air . Several oak trees were blown over on Dale Circle, damaging one home, before the tornado dissipated. Max winds were estimated at 85 mph.

*Sources

G - Grazulis, T. P., 1993: Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991.  A Chronology and Analysis of Events. Environmental Films, Tornado Project, St. Johnsbury, VT.
SD - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1950-2016: Storm Data. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC.
SPC - Storm Prediction Center Database