HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — It has been 35 years since a destructive F4 tornado tore through Madison County producing millions of dollars in damage.
The morning started like any other for residents, with no severe weather in the forecast that day. That quickly changed as a robust storm system pushed into the region. A strong south-southwest wind surged moisture into the region priming the environment for strong to severe storm development by the afternoon.
Above is a look at the base reflectivity from the day of the deadly tornado outbreak.
The first image represents a squall-line, or line of storms, with a singular supercell ahead of the line 30 minutes before the tornado touched down. The red circle indicates where the line of storms will soon intercept the supercell.
The second image represents the moment the tornado touched down following the interception of the supercell and line of storms. The area circled in red on the second image shows a hook on the supercell. This would indicate where the rotation of the winds would be and the position of the tornado.
The Airport Road Tornado touched down near the Redstone Arsenal at 4:30 p.m. and then raced northeast through Madison County. It produced an 18.5-mile-long damage path and at its peak produced winds over 200 mph. The tornado was around 880 yards and after producing miles of damage lifted near Killingsworth Cove.
The tornado killed 21 people and injured 463, 19 of the deaths occurred along along Airport Road between Memorial Parkway and Whitesburg Drive.
The squall line, or line of storms, also led to an F1 tornado in Jackson County, large hail, and wind damage.
Along that path, the tornado destroyed 259 homes, 80 businesses, and two schools while damaging another 278 homes, eight businesses, three churches, and more than one thousand vehicles. In the Jones Valley area specifically, the Jones Valley Elementary School was demolished.
Above is a look at some of the images across Madison County 34 years ago, provided by the National Weather Service.
News 19’s Gregg Stone’s First Hand Account:
News 19’s Chief Video Journalist, Gregg Stone, shared his first-hand experience with Meteorologist Jessica Camuto. Gregg had been with the station for ten years at the time of the F4 tornado.
An image that will always stick with Gregg is when he was “following a police officer as they are searching through debris trying to find people, trying to find survivors.” He recalled, “All of a sudden, lighting lights up the sky. You see the movie theater that’s in front of us, and it just lights up the whole area. Then it all comes into focus: This is huge; there’s a lot of damage here.”
Through the heartbreak and pain, the Madison County community pulled together in a time of need to support one another.
