What the record says
On 8 April 1998, a tornado touched down near Birmingham, Alabama. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 30.3 miles long and up to 1,320 yards wide, rated F5 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 32 people and injured 259.
- F5Fujita rating
- 32deaths
- 259injuries
- 30.3 mipath length
- 1,320 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 33.42, -87.35 and the end point at 33.58, -86.87 (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
- 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
- Lakeview, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 25 deaths, 33.7 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1998
- Orlando, Florida tornado22 February 1998, F3, 25 deaths, 150 injuries, 28 miles long
- Sanford, Florida tornado22 February 1998, F3, 13 deaths, 36 injuries, 16 miles long
- Gainesville, Georgia tornado20 March 1998, F3, 12 deaths, 171 injuries, 4 miles long
- Farmer, South Dakota tornado30 May 1998, F4, 6 deaths, 150 injuries, 14 miles long
- Hinesville, Georgia tornado9 April 1998, F2, 4 deaths, 31 injuries, 24.5 miles long
All tornadoes of 1998 · Alabama tornado history · All notable tornadoes