On December 16, 2000, a destructive tornado outbreak hit the Southeastern United States, from Mississippi to North Carolina. The most significant tornado of the outbreak occurred in communities south and east of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The F4 tornado killed 11 people and injured more than 125 others; it was the strongest tornado to hit the state of Alabama in the month of December since 1950.
 Damage to trees, homes, and trailers south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. | |
| Type | Tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Duration | December 16, 2000 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | 24 |
| Max. rating1 | F4 tornado |
| Duration of tornado outbreak2 | 13 hours |
| Fatalities | 12 fatalities, 186 injuries |
| Damage | US$ 35 million[1] |
| Areas affected | Deep South, Southeastern United States |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado | |
Confirmed tornadoes
| State | Total | County | County total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 12 | Geneva | 1 |
| Tuscaloosa | 11 |
| FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 |
December 16 event
| F# | Location | County | State | Time (UTC) | Path length | Max width | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F2 | Geneva | Geneva | AL | 16:34–16:40 | 4.5 mi (7.2 km) | 100 yd (91 m) | 1 death – 100 homes were damaged and five mobile homes were destroyed in and around Geneva. Many trees were downed, and 15 vehicles were damaged or destroyed as well. The fatality occurred when a woman was thrown 75 yards (69 m) from her destroyed mobile home. Nine people were injured. |
| F2 | W of Dothan to SW of Abbeville | Houston, Dale, Henry | AL | 17:00–17:45 | 29 mi (47 km) | 300 yd (270 m) | In Houston County, five homes sustained minor roof damage, along with blown out windows and overturned lawn furniture. In Dale County, several homes in Doe Run subdivision in Pinckard were destroyed. Several other homes and businesses were damaged to varying degrees. A church annex in Midland City lost part of its roof and walls. After crossing into Henry County, the Murphy Feed & Seed warehouse, numerous peanut trailers, and two sheds were destroyed. A textile plant and numerous vehicles were heavily damaged as well. Numerous trees were downed along the path. |
| F2 | NE of Meridian | Lauderdale | MS | 17:30–17:45 | 12 mi (19 km) | 440 yd (400 m) | Two homes, three businesses, and thirteen mobile homes were destroyed while 44 homes, 34 mobile homes, and one business were damaged. Thousands of trees were downed, and numerous power poles were downed. There were 17 injuries reported, including one critical. |
| F1 | NE of Courtland | Lawrence, Limestone | AL | 18:25–18:31 | 5.1 mi (8.2 km) | 40 yd (37 m) | Several outbuildings and boat houses were destroyed, while three homes were damaged. The tornado crossed Wheeler Lake and dissipated just after entering Limestone County. |
| F2 | NNW of Athens | Limestone | AL | 18:38–18:44 | 4.8 mi (7.7 km) | 60 yd (55 m) | Three mobile homes were destroyed, and several frame homes were heavily damaged. |
| F4 | SW of Tuscaloosa to SE of Cottondale | Tuscaloosa | AL | 18:54–19:12 | 18 mi (29 km) | 750 yd (690 m) | 11 deaths – See section on this tornado – Seen live on WCFT-TV, tower camera. 144 people were injured. |
| F0 | NE of Freeport | Walton | FL | 18:55 | 0.2 mi (0.32 km) | 50 yd (46 m) | Several trees were downed. |
| F1 | NE of Ardmore | Lincoln | TN | 19:08–19:10 | 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | 50 yd (46 m) | An outbuilding was destroyed, a mobile home was heavily damaged (including loss of its roof), homes sustained minor roof damage, and the roof of a cinder block garage was turned about 90 degrees. |
| F2 | SE of Bonifay | Holmes | FL | 19:24–19:30 | 3 mi (4.8 km) | 100 yd (91 m) | Four mobile homes were destroyed, while eight businesses and 39 homes were damaged. Trees and power lines were downed as well. |
| F0 | SE of Marion | Perry | AL | 19:29–19:31 | 0.7 mi (1.1 km) | 30 yd (27 m) | Several trees were downed just north of Suttle. |
| F1 | S of Graceville to SW of Campbellton | Jackson | FL | 19:50–20:00 | 5 mi (8.0 km) | 75 yd (69 m) | Several mobile homes and carports were damaged, and numerous trees and power lines were downed. |
| F2 | S of Ashville | St. Clair | AL | 20:20–20:31 | 8.5 mi (13.7 km) | 200 yd (180 m) | Two mobile homes were destroyed, and four frame homes were damaged. A baseball park at Ashville High School was damaged as well. Two people were injured. |
| F3 | NE of Gadsden | Etowah, Cherokee | AL | 20:46–21:05 | 12.8 mi (20.6 km) | 500 yd (460 m) | Major damage occurred in the Coats Bend area in Etowah County, where 250 homes were either damaged or destroyed and fourteen people were injured. In Cherokee County, a few structures were damaged. Numerous trees were downed along the path. |
| F0 | Southeast Bynum | Calhoun | AL | 21:17–21:18 | 0.3 mi (0.48 km) | 20 yd (18 m) | Brief, weak tornado with no damage. |
| F2 | W of Albany | Dougherty | GA | 21:50–22:05 | 6 mi (9.7 km) | 75 yd (69 m) | Abigail Plantation was heavily affected, with the main house and several surrounding structures being damaged and hundreds of trees being downed. Several homes were damaged, as well as storage buildings at a trailer park, and power poles were downed, causing over 300 outages in northwest Albany. |
| F0 | SW of Deatsville | Autauga | AL | 22:55–22:56 | 0.2 mi (0.32 km) | 20 yd (18 m) | Brief tornado with no damage. |
| F0 | S of Tallassee | Macon | AL | 23:46 | 0.7 mi (1.1 km) | 50 yd (46 m) | Three homes sustained minor roof and window damage, and two outbuildings and two satellite dishes were destroyed. Several trees were downed as well. |
| F0 | N of Roanoke | Randolph | AL | 00:19 | 1 mi (1.6 km) | 40 yd (37 m) | Numerous trees were downed. |
| F2 | ESE of Americus | Sumter | GA | 02:30–02:42 | 10 mi (16 km) | 100 yd (91 m) | A wood-frame house was destroyed, with a second being damaged. Three barns and five outbuildings were destroyed, a large camper trailer was overturned, a high-tension power line tower was heavily damaged, and two cattle were killed. Several chicken houses were destroyed, with nearly 400 chickens being killed. Numerous trees and power lines were downed as well. |
| F0 | NW of Calhoun Falls | Abbeville | SC | 03:10 | 0.1 mi (0.16 km) | 10 yd (9.1 m) | A satellite dish was torn off a house by this brief tornado. |
| F0 | Spring Lake | Cumberland | NC | 05:00 | 0.1 mi (0.16 km) | 25 yd (23 m) | A tornado was observed from Pope Air Force Base; no damage was reported. |
| F2 | S of Augusta | Richmond | GA | 05:10–05:20 | 2 mi (3.2 km) | 60 yd (55 m) | This tornado caused extensive damage to a subdivision, along with homes and mobile homes elsewhere along the track. Eight people were injured, one seriously. |
| F0 | SW of Lillington | Harnett | NC | 05:10 | 0.1 mi (0.16 km) | 25 yd (23 m) | Windows were blown out of buildings by a brief tornado. |
| F0 | N of Coats | Harnett | NC | 05:15 | 0.1 mi (0.16 km) | 25 yd (23 m) | Trees and large tree limbs were downed, a few of which smashed car windows. |
| Source: NCDC Storm Data | |||||||
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
| F4 tornado | |
|---|---|
 The tornado's track | |
| Max. rating1 | F4 tornado |
| Fatalities | 11 fatalities; 144 injuries |
| Damage | >$12 million (2000 USD) |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
The tornado touched down just before 12:54 p.m. CST (18:54 UTC) near the Black Warrior River in southern Tuscaloosa County and proceeded northeastward for 18 miles (29 km) across the communities of Englewood, Hinton Place, Hillcrest Meadows, Bear Creek, and Woodland Forest. A tornado emergency was issued for the area before it lifted near Cottondale east of Tuscaloosa near the concurrent Interstate 20/59. At its peak intensity, the tornado was about 750 yards (690 m) wide. The worst damage was located near the Bear Creek and Hillcrest Meadows areas where F4 damage occurred, and homes were completely leveled. Near I-59/20, several commercial buildings including hotels and restaurants were heavily damaged and a shopping center near Highway 69 was also hit and partially destroyed. Damage was estimated at over $12 million. More than 40 houses and 70 mobile homes were completely destroyed, with hundreds more seriously damaged.[2]
It was the deadliest tornado to hit the state since the Birmingham F5 tornado that killed 32 people across portions of northwestern Jefferson County on April 8, 1998. That tornado started just northeast of Tuscaloosa during the evening hours, demolishing numerous structures south and west of the Birmingham metro area. Since records have been kept in 1950, the Tuscaloosa tornado is the third deadliest tornado in December, tied with an F4 tornado near Murphysboro, Illinois on December 18, 1957, and behind the Vicksburg, Mississippi F5 tornado on December 5, 1953, which killed 38 people, and the 2021 Western Kentucky tornado, which killed 58 people.
The tornado was part of a supercell thunderstorm that developed across Mississippi before traveling across Alabama, dropping more tornadoes in St. Clair and Etowah counties. Additional tornadoes were confirmed northwest of Birmingham and Jasper.
Tower Cam footage
The tornado was also captured live on the ABC affiliate WBMA/WCFT/WJSU (channels 58, 33, and 40, generally called "ABC 33/40") in Birmingham during a special severe weather bulletin with meteorologists James Spann, Mark Prater, and John Oldshue. The tornado was caught by the station's tower cam located just outside downtown Tuscaloosa along Interstate 59/20 at Woodland Road on US 82. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gave Spann an Emmy Award for the event. The tornado was followed from Englewood to just near its passage south of downtown Tuscaloosa when the reception was lost due to a torrential downpour.
See also
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- 2011 Super Outbreak
- 2011 Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado – An EF4 tornado that struck Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, resulting in 64 fatalities.
- Tornado outbreak of April 14–16, 2011 – An EF3 tornado that took a very similar track to the 2000 tornado.
