What the record says
On 3 May 1984, a tornado touched down near Prattville, Alabama. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 7 miles long and up to 800 yards wide, rated F3 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 5 people and injured 37.
- F3Fujita rating
- 5deaths
- 37injuries
- 7 mipath length
- 800 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it killed three or more people and it was rated 3 and killed at least one person.
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 32.37, -86.40 and the end point at 32.45, -86.35 (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 1984
- Greenville, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 16 deaths, 153 injuries, 28 miles long
- Walthall, Mississippi tornado21 April 1984, F3, 15 deaths, 76 injuries, 71 miles long
- St. Pauls, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F3, 12 deaths, 101 injuries, 40 miles long
- Ridgeway, Wisconsin tornado7 June 1984, F5, 9 deaths, 200 injuries, 36 miles long
- Henryetta, Oklahoma tornado26 April 1984, F3, 8 deaths, 95 injuries, 22 miles long
All tornadoes of 1984 · Alabama tornado history · All notable tornadoes