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Geneva County, AL

Date Time (LST) F/EF-Scale Length (Miles) Maximum Width (Yards) Fatalities Injuries Property Damage Source*
2/7/1890 n/a F2 6 n/a 1 3 n/a G

Moved NE from just south of Eunola. A house was destroyed. A resident of the destroyed home described it as "being enveloped in a cloud of sparks. " Trees of all sizes were swept away.

3/12/1912 300 am F3 30 n/a 8 50 n/a G

Moved NE from near Hartford, passing Wicksburg, and through Headland. The worst damage occurred at Headland, where 92 buildings, including 25 homes, were damaged or destroyed, and five people were killed. One person was killed and 26 were injured at Hartford.

3/16/1956 530 am F1 12 20 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC
8/30/1974 1215 pm F0 0.1 50 0 0 $300 SD, SPC
5/26/1977 340 pm F1 0.1 20 0 0 $2,500 SD, SPC
4/12/1980 700 am F2 31 150 0 1 $250,000 G, SD, SPC

Skipped E at Earlytown and on the east side of Slocomb. Most of the 24 structures struck in Earlytown suffered heavy roof damage. In Slocomb, a farm service store and a tractor sales store were damaged.

10/1/1989 530 am F1 3 33 0 0 n/a SD, SPC
11/12/1992 210 pm F0 0.5 10 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC
11/22/1992 210 pm F0 2.2 20 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC
12/24/1997 739 am F1 1 100 0 1 $250,000 SD, SPC

Tornado touched down one mile east of Geneva at the intersection of County Roads 4 and 6 damaging 6 to 10 residences. 10 to 15 homes and trailers were damaged on J.P. Jones Road near Oak Grove. Numerous trees and power lines were down. There was considerable damage to Christmas decorations at Fowler Park in Geneva.

6/23/1998 300 pm F1 3 100 0 0 $150,000 SD, SPC

Just east of CR 9 about 3.5 miles north of Slocomb, sheet metal off a hay barn was blown 1/4 mile to the ENE. One neighboring property sustained tree and roof damage, a destroyed shed and a damaged hay barn. One nearby mobile home lost its roof with tree limb damage within a one mile radius. Dime sized hail accompanied the storm. South of Slocomb, damage was more severe. Spotty tree damage began about 2 miles south along CR 85. The most danage occurred 1/4 mile east of the New Teamon Baptist Church. Several large oak trees were uprooted, extensive tree limb damage, a mobile home roof damaged, and a barn sustained roof and door damage. Two structures on CR 91 were damaged by fallen trees. One witness observed the tornado as 100 yards wide, moving from NW to SE. Hail fell prior to the tornado passage.

9/29/1998 230 am F1 1 60 0 3 $100,000 SD, SPC

An F1 tornado touched down five miles northeast of Samson off CR 8. One mobile home was lifted 50 feet off its foundation and destroyed. The three occupants sustained minor injuries.

9/29/1998 245 am F1 3 50 0 0 $50,000 SD, SPC

A tornado touched down in central Geneva County. It skipped along AL Highway 85 between Geneva and Bellwood. Several trees and power lines were toppled. The Providence Church near Bellwood sustained roof damage from fallen trees.

12/16/2000 1134 am F2 5 100 1 9 $2,500,000 SD, SPC

An F2 tornado touched down on West Hendrix Avenue, just north of Highway 27 South, then tore through the Devco Community, Geneva, AL, and continued on through the Bellwood Community just east of Highway 85 before lifting. In its wake, the tornado damaged up to 100 homes and destroyed five mobile homes, damaged or destroyed 15 vehicles, and downed numerous trees and power lines. About 6,000 county businesses and homes were without power until the following day. One woman was killed when her mobile home was hurled about 200 feet and destroyed. Nine others were injured, one of them seriously. Geneva County was declared a federal disaster area. Reported by the Geneva County EMA. F35MH

5/31/2004 220 pm F0 0.2 50 0 0 $5,000 SD, SPC

A weak tornado briefly touched down and toppled trees and power lines. Reported by the Geneva County EMA.

4/13/2009 700 am EF0 0.3 50 0 0 $150,000 SD, SPC

An EF0 tornado touched down near County Road 4 and moved across County Road 55. Several homes were damaged along its short path.

3/1/2012 102 pm EF1 6.67 50 0 0 $50,000 SD, SPC

An NWS storm survey confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down just south of Hartford around 102 pm CST and moved eastward before lifting near the intersection of Cotton Box Road and Davis Mill Road around 114 pm CST. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along the path with roof damage to at least three homes and a barn destroyed. Max winds were estimated around 95 mph with a path width around 50 yards. Monetary damage was estimated.

3/1/2012 114 pm EF1 0.34 30 0 0 $5,000 SD, SPC

A second EF1 tornado touched down briefly near the intersection of Highway 103 and Tindil Creek Road to the south of the first tornado around 114 pm CST. This tornado traveled east-northeastward around one-third of a mile across Tindil Creek Road before lifting around 115 pm CST. Numerous hardwood and softwood trees were snapped and uprooted along its path. The path width was estimated around 30 yards with maximum winds around 95 mph. Monetary damage was estimated.

3/2/2012 617 pm EF0 0.07 25 0 0 $0 SD, SPC

This tornado was seen by at least two people. One person was driving along Highway 52 near Hartford, and the other person who was an instructor pilot out of Ft. Rucker saw it touch down briefly in a peanut field for around 1 minute. No known damage occurred.

3/23/2012 1148 am EF0 1.68 25 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC

A weak tornado touched down near the intersection of County Road 73 and Scott Road, knocking down a few trees in this location. This tornado continued northeastward a short distance where a few houses experienced minor roof damage near 1984 N County Road 49. The tornado then lifted shortly afterwards. The damage was consistent was an EF0 tornado with maximum winds around 80 mph. Monetary damage was estimated.

6/10/2012 1011 am EF1 9.66 440 0 0 $100,000 SD, SPC

It is believed that the damage path from this tornado was nearly continuous from where the tornado first touched down near Niva Drive-In Road and Highway 27, to where it dissipated just north of the Geneva County border east of Chancellor. The bulk of the damage caused by this tornado was in the EF0 range. However, the most significant damage seems to have occurred in the vicinity of County road 99 and Buck Vaughn Road. Damage in and near this location is consistent with EF1.

8/30/2012 144 am EF1 0.41 35 0 0 $20,000 SD, SPC

The Geneva county emergency manager confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down around the Highway 52 and County Road 20 area. Several large trees were blown down, and the roof was blown off a mobile home along with damage to sheds and a barn near County Road 5 and Bear Branch Road. This tornado continued into far southwest Coffee county before lifting. Monetary damage was estimated.

9/17/2012 312 pm EF0 0.09 20 0 0 $10,000 SD, SPC

A brief EF0 tornado touched down between South Canal and South Broad Street in Samson. Several trees and power lines were blown down, including at least one tree on a house as well as roof damage to another house. Law enforcement initially reported seeing a funnel cloud in the area and later confirmed the funnel cloud briefly touched down as a tornado. Max winds were estimated around 80 mph. Monetary damage was estimated. An upper level trough and surface cold front affected the area on September 17-18. A brief tornado occurred in Geneva county.

5/10/2014 207 pm EF1 2.15 100 0 0 $85,000 SD

Damage began just west of Geneva County Highway 9 near the intersection with Thelma Road. The beginning of the damage path appeared to be about 250 yards west of Highway 9 where some light tree damage was noted. More substantial tree damage was noted closer to Highway 9 and along Thelma Road, with numerous snapped or uprooted trees. In addition there was damage to two houses. One had some minor damage to some of the siding and gutters. The other had uplift of some sections of the roof from both the house and a nearby shed. Damage at this location was consistent with estimated peak 3-second wind gusts of around 100 mph based on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Some sporadic tree damage was noted to the northeast of Thelma Road near some farm fields, and it seems likely that the tornado was then in occasional contact with the ground for a little over a mile with only some light tree damage noted. A small corridor of more significant damage was noted again just west of Price Road and about 0.3 miles north of Geneva County Highway 4. At that location, a metal building structure being used as a barn was destroyed. The metal beams that supported the structure were embedded at the corners of the building in about a foot of concrete in the ground. These beams and the associated concrete were pulled out of the ground. Nearby damage consisted of some sporadic instances of trees and poles being snapped, as well as a small shed being destroyed. Given the likelihood that the wind entered the larger metal structure relatively unimpeded, and a lack of more significant nearby damage, it`s likely that this structure failed at a slightly lower wind speed with estimated peak 3-second wind gusts of around 105 mph. The last damage was noted in a patch of trees just northeast of the metal structure that was destroyed.

1/2/2017 735 pm EF1 1.85 500 0 0 $50,000 SD

A tornado touched down in Geneva County near the Houston County border along Rehobeth Road before lifting after crossing US 231 just east of the National Peanut Festival Grounds in Houston county. In Geneva County, the tornado debarked and denuded several large trees and removed the roof from a home under construction. In addition, numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. In Houston County, the most significant damage occurred at the National Peanut Festival grounds. Multiple buildings were damaged or destroyed and several utility poles were snapped. This tornado was rated EF1 in Geneva county and EF2 in Houston county. Max winds in Houston county were estimated at 115 mph. Damage cost was estimated.

3/3/2019 451 pm EF1 5.12 300 0 0 $100,000 SD

The tornado touched down about 3.5 miles south of Slocomb, AL and proceeded east northeast and impacted multiple single family homes and a few manufactured homes. Most of the damage was roof damage, but a few manufactured homes were shifted off their anchor points . The most significant damage happened about a half of a mile northwest of the intersection of Mozell Rd and Cotton Box Rd. At this location the tornado passed over a single family home and the 110 mile per hour winds estimated at this location gained entry into the garage and removed the entire garage roof and some parts of the roof over the house. Immediately behind the house and along the path of the tornado a manufactured home was lifted off its anchor points and rotated about 10 to 15 feet from its original location. The damage at these locations was consistent with a high end EF-1 tornado and winds were estimated to be around 110 mph at this point. The tornado continued to move east from its strongest point and eventually crossed the intersection of Grant Rd. and County Rd 103 where EF-1 damage was found to manufactured homes and single family homes. The tornado then crossed Old Chipley Rd where it impacted a barn with EF-1 damage. Finally the tornado moved just east-southeast and appeared to have lifted just east of County Rd 49 after causing low end EF-1 damage to some larger trees. Damage cost was estimated.

4/19/2020 1032 pm EF0 1.82 100 0 0 $0 SD

An EF0 tornado briefly touched down with damage consisting of snapped trees. Max winds were estimated around 75 mph.

8/31/2021 534 pm EF0 0.58 25 0 0 $0 SD

A tornado touched down in fields west of Pates Road in Geneva County . The tornado tracked across mostly farmland into Houston County before damaging a barn and dissipating near Cumbie Road. Video on social media showed a very narrow tornado tracking across a peanut field near the Houston -Geneva County Border. Max winds were estimated near 80 mph.

4/5/2022 1238 pm EF0 3.92 200 0 0 $75,000 SD

An EF0 tornado initially tracked through portions of Malvern, AL. The path began near Firecracker Road where some minor damage was found. The tornado then crossed the Magnolia Grove Mobile Home Community along Wynwood Ln where more notable damage occurred . The stairway of one home was displaced about 5 ft from the front door. An adjacent mobile home suffered major roof loss , while another near the community entrance had a wooden projectile impale its side. The tornado then caused some damage along County Road 93 between Malvern Highway and East College Avenue where mostly broken tree limbs were found. Additional damage occurred in portions of Rehobeth along Branton Road near South Park Avenue , mostly to a few outbuildings with a large uprooted tree leaning against a home. The end point is near Porter Road just off County Road 203 where two large oak trees were uprooted at two neighboring properties. One large tree trunk also snapped and fell on top of a home's living room. The max estimated winds were 85 mph.

4/5/2022 1239 pm EF1 0.19 50 0 0 $3,000 SD

A very brief tornado touched down in a field just northwest of Malvern Highway and Scott Road . The tornado caused damage to crops in the field and then destroyed a rather well build carport, pulling anchor bolts from concrete and lag bolts from wooden posts. The tornado quickly dissipated before crossing Malvern Highway. This tornado was rated EF1 with max winds estimated at 90 mph.

11/30/2022 642 am EF1 1.79 50 0 0 $40,000 SD

A brief EF1 tornado touched down along Hundley Road near Slocomb with significant roof damage to a house and carport. The rear window of a Tahoe was also blown out. The tornado moved southeastward through a wooded area with some trees snapped along its path. It then moved across McCollough Road where a pole was bent. The tornado lifted near the intersection of McCollough Road and Green Road. Peak winds were estimated near 95 mph.

11/21/2023 504 pm EF1 6.07 50 0 0 $100,000 SD

Based on a tornado debris signature from the KEOX radar, a tornado touched down in a remote area near Barnes Creek south of CR 36. The tornado then tracked northeast, damaging several metal chicken coops on CR 36. The tornado next snapped a couple of trees on North CR 55. After crossing Oamon Pond Road, the tornado turned slightly to the right, snapping trees and significantly damaging an outbuilding on Childs Road. The largest concentration of damage occurred in a wooded area just southwest of CR 47 where numerous hardwood trees were snapped or uprooted. This is where the tornado reached its peak intensity of 105 mph, leaving a trail of debris across adjacent fields. The tornado then did significant damage to a barn on CR 57 where several smaller trees were also snapped. The tornado may then have briefly lifted before doing some damage on North CR 69. While debris signatures were still evident on radar, no damage was noted downstream from this point. Damage along most of the path was consistent with EF-1 damage.

*Sources

G - Grazulis, T. P., 1993: Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991.  A Chronology and Analysis of Events. Environmental Films, Tornado Project, St. Johnsbury, VT.
SD - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1950-2016: Storm Data. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC.
SPC - Storm Prediction Center Database