page_title: Tornado outbreak of January 23–24, 1997
section_title: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
hierarchical_section_title: Tornado outbreak of January 23–24, 1997 / Confirmed tornadoes / Tuscaloosa, Alabama
caption_attribution_description: English: Homes and buildings in Tuscaloosa showing various degrees of damage after the 1997 tornado. In the center right, there are at least two homes with the roofs completely ripped off; this is consistent with mid-grade F2 damage. Other surrounding homes are only missing portions or shingles from their roofs; consistent with F0-F1 damage. There are some uprooted trees visible towards the center of the photograph.
context_page_description: The tornado outbreak of January 23–24, 1997 resulted in 16 tornadoes across the Deep South. Damage in excess of 16 million dollars occurred across several states, with the worst damage in Tennessee and Alabama. Over 300 buildings, including homes, businesses, and public facilities were either damaged or completely destroyed. An F2 tornado killed one person in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The strongest storm in the outbreak was an F4 tornado that destroyed dozens of homes in and near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
context_section_description: Just before 5:00 PM on January 24, a tornado touched down on the east side of the Warrior River south of Interstate 59 and west of County Road 95. Initial damage included snapped tree branches and shingles torn off of the roof of an apartment complex. As it crossed U.S. Route 82 and Interstate 59, the tornado quickly became stronger, with two businesses, Books-a-Million and Gayfers suffering roof damage. Moving in a northeast direction, the tornado then entered the Woodland Hills area, destroying outbuildings and damaging several homes. A 71-year old retired physician was killed when a tree fell onto the windshield of his pickup truck. It was the first tornado-related fatality in the United States in 1997.
  The tornado ultimately reached F2 intensity as it entered Five Points East. The manager of the Food World grocery store at that location saw the approaching tornado and ushered customers into the store. Many cars in the Food World parking lot were destroyed, including one that was tossed into the backyard of a neighboring house while another was tossed through the roof of the store. At least one other business, a Big-B location, also suffered damage.
  After impacting the Food World and Big B stores, the tornado continued into the Lynn Haven residential area damaging ten to twelve homes. Damage to these homes ranged from partial to complete roof loss. The tornado then crossed the Tuscaloosa Memorial Gardens Cemetery and State Road 216, entering the Summerfield subdivision. Six to eight houses in the subdivision received minor damage while other structures including a few mobile homes and a small grocery store were destroyed. The tornado dissipated shortly afterwards in a wooded area just north of State Road 216.
  A tornado warning was issued for Tuscaloosa County at 5:11 PM, shortly before the tornado dissipated. The warning would remain in effect for another 49 minutes.
  The tornado was on the ground for approximately 15 minutes, with a path length of 10 miles long by 200 yards wide. The EMA of Tuscaloosa County concluded that up to 100 structures sustained some degree of damage, ranging from roof damage to complete destruction. The sole fatality that occurred during the tornado was the first tornado-related fatality to occur in 1997, and the first in Tuscaloosa since the 1932 Deep South tornado outbreak killed 37 people in the area.
  The December 2000 Tuscaloosa tornado, which occurred almost three years later, would follow a similar path to the 1997 twister. The 2000 tornado was rated at F4 intensity and killed 11 people.
caption: Damage from the Tuscaloosa tornado.
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