What the record says
On 22 March 1952, a tornado touched down near Huntsville, Alabama. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 21.6 miles long and up to 100 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 4 people and injured 50.
- F4Fujita rating
- 4deaths
- 50injuries
- 21.6 mipath length
- 100 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 34.60, -87.00 and the end point at 34.68, -86.63 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Alabama
- Athens, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 72 deaths, 145 injuries, 132 miles long
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF4, 64 deaths, 1,500 injuries, 80.7 miles long
- Learned, Mississippi tornado3 March 1966, F5, 58 deaths, 518 injuries, 202.5 miles long
- Birmingham, Alabama tornado8 April 1998, F5, 32 deaths, 259 injuries, 30.3 miles long
- Decatur, Alabama tornado3 April 1974, F5, 28 deaths, 272 injuries, 79.5 miles long
- Athens, Alabama tornado3 April 1974, F5, 28 deaths, 267 injuries, 52 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1952
- Searcy, Arkansas tornado21 March 1952, F4, 50 deaths, 325 injuries, 14.6 miles long
- Bolivar, Tennessee tornado21 March 1952, F4, 38 deaths, 157 injuries, 46.8 miles long
- Cotton Plant, Arkansas tornado21 March 1952, F4, 29 deaths, 180 injuries, 13.1 miles long
- Cooter, Missouri tornado21 March 1952, F4, 17 deaths, 100 injuries, 6.5 miles long
- Byhalia, Mississippi tornado21 March 1952, F4, 16 deaths, 74 injuries, 29.6 miles long
All tornadoes of 1952 · Alabama tornado history · All notable tornadoes