SPC Stats

Path length: 10.1 miles

Width:  500 yards

Fatalities:  0

Injuries:  22

Rating:  F4

County:  Blount, Etowah

A large tornado outbreak occurred on November 23 and 24, 2001. A total of 66 tornadoes were confirmed across eight states. 34 tornadoes occurred in the state of Alabama. We look at one of those in this summary.  It was an F4 that moved 10.1 miles through parts of Blount and Etowah Counties. There were no fatalities and 22 injuries.

The tornado began south of US 231 on CR 29 near Mt. Carmel Church. Several trees were snapped in this area. It moved to the northeast causing damage in the F2 range to a few homes and trailers along Tidwell Road.  There were several injuries in this area.  It strengthened as it moved to the northeast and per Storm Data, there were three areas of F4 damage:

  • Destroyed frame home near US 231 in Blount County.
  • Between Robbins Lake and Airport Road in Blount County: Large trees were completely snapped off at ground level; two tandem-wheel dump trucks were overturned, and moved or rolled 30 yards; several storage containers filled with construction supplies and equipment were rolled up to 50 yards; a large bulldozer was moved five feet; a large pole-barn building was completely obliterated.
  • Near Altoona in Etowah County, a well-constructed $250,000 home was completely destroyed.
The tornado crossed SR 132, ascended a steep hill and ended.  The National Weather Service noted that debris was scattered several miles beyond the end of the tornado track.

Tornado Path

SPC coordinates:  Start: 33.92 / -86.43      End: 34.03 / -86.30

Corrected Coordinates based on Storm Data:

Start: 33.926632/-86.433376     End: 34.039557/-86.302479

Note:  Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.

Damage Photos via NWS Birmingham

House destroyed on US Highway 231 at Morton Rd. The tornado was at F4 strength here.
Intersection of Carmel Lane and Tidwell Drive.
End of Tidwell Drive. The owner was in the destroyed mobile home in the foreground. The owner was called to the house in the top left as the storm approached. That person almost made it, but suffered a broken arm and pelvis.
#9 Carmel Lane. There were 9 people in this mobile home. All survived with no more than minor injuries.
Robbins Field, Oneonta. Hangars were the last structures damaged in Blount County.
Aerial Views of Altoona.
Aerial Views of Altoona.

Newspaper Clippings

Questions or comments about this summary?  Contact us here!

Join the tornado history discussion on our Discord Server!

Note:  There are some images/videos in our summaries that were licensed to us to be used only on this website. If you would like to use an image/video in your project or blog, please contact us and we will grant permission if possible.

Newspaper clips are embedded via newspapers.com. Please see their terms and conditions.

————————————————

Would you like to see more summaries like this one?  Support Tornado Talk on Patreon! Become a Patron!


0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

You cannot copy content of this page