On Thursday May 18, 1995, a powerful and destructive F4

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

struck several towns near the city of

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, killing one person and causing extensive damage and devastation, including the destruction of the Anderson Hills subdivision. The tornado touched down just northwest of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. It tracked from that point through eastern Limestone County, through

Harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

, Meridianville, and

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in northern

Madison County, Alabama Madison County is a County (United States), county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 388,153, and according to a 2023 population estimate the ...

, and ended near Princeton in northwest

Jackson County, Alabama Jackson County is the northeasternmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 52,579. The county seat is Scottsboro, Alabama, Scottsboro. The county was ...

. The strongest portion of the tornado's path was near Harvest in northwest Madison County around the Anderson Hills subdivision and the Huntsville Dragway, lending the tornado its name. The tornado resulted in US$5 million (1995) in property damage.

Meteorological synopsis

Storm development and track

Touchdown

The tornado first touched down at 5:33 p.m. approximately three miles northwest of Athens, just east of SR 99. The tornado moved across SR 127, then across

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...

near the interchange with

US 31 U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/ US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. I ...

. From there, the tornado strengthened as it continued east, crossing SR 251, where it destroyed 13 mobile homes at the Oakdale Mobile Home Park. At this point of devastation at around 5:42 p.m., one person received major injuries from the tornado and died two days later; Chuck Dale, 30 years old, was the one fatality of the tornado. Around this time, a

tornado warning A tornado warning ( SAME code: TOR) is a public warning that is issued by weather forecasting agencies to an area in the direct path of a tornado, or a severe thunderstorm capable of producing one, and advises individuals in that area to take c ...

was issued for Madison County to give residents on the northwest side of the county an opportunity to take cover; tornado sirens were activated at 5:43 p.m., one minute after the warning was issued. Meanwhile, the tornado began to move slightly north of east, moving across Mooresville Road and crossing through the Copeland community near the intersection of Copeland Road and East Limestone Road. It continued to strengthen as it crossed over Limestone Creek and approached the Madison County line. Overall in Limestone County, 35 buildings were damaged or destroyed, and 26 mobile homes were destroyed. Around 9,500 customers lost electricity in the county, where damage was estimated to be $1.5 million.

Madison County

The tornado crossed into Madison County around 5:50 p.m. on Love Branch Road, just north of the Yarbrough Road intersection. It continued an east-northeasterly path across Carroll Road, Old Railroad Bed Road, and Wall Triana Highway, crossing just south of Harvest Elementary School. At 5:52 p.m., Madison County Fire dispatch reported that the tornado was on the ground near Harvest. The now violent tornado moved directly into Harvest and crossed Fords Chapel Road before taking a direct hit on the Anderson Hills subdivision along SR 53. At this point, the tornado was at F4 intensity and the subsequent survey would also reveal evidence of it having multiple vortices. A total of 39 well-constructed houses in the subdivision sustained major damage, and 21 were destroyed. The

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along SR 53 also received damage. At 5:54 p.m., the Madison County Sheriff's Department confirmed the tornado had crossed Old Railroad Bed Road and SR 53. As a result of these reports, tornado sirens were reactivated in Madison County one minute later. The tornado continued east-northeast making a glancing blow to the Huntsville Dragway before crossing Quarter Mountain Road and Bollweevil Lane on the northern face of Quarter Mountain. Next it crossed Hammond Lane (where it caused major damage to a few two story brick homes), Beaver Dam Road, Beaverdam Creek, and Pulaski Pike. It moved over Beaverdam Creek a second time at Mount Lebanon Road as it moved into the Meridianville area, then across Patterson Lane destroying one home and damaging several others. Shortly after 6:00 p.m., the tornado crossed

US 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south U.S highway that is a parallel route of US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, at US 41 to south of US 98 in downtown Panama City, Florida. One of its most notable landmark ...

/ 431 at Steger Curve – around Brier Fork bridge. Here, substantial damage was done to a

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and a large farm house was spun off its foundation.

More tornado warnings

From the highway, the tornado continued slightly north of east, tracking along Steger Road to near its intersection with McCollum Road. It moved across farmland, then crossed Moores Mill Road just south of Moores Mill School (now known as Lynn Fanning School). Several windows at the school were shattered. East of here, the tornado caused damage on the south end of the Timberwind subdivision before crossing the

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from th ...

between Meridianville and New Market. At 6:13 p.m., a Madison County Sheriff's deputy radioed that the tornado was passing over his car on Butler Road. Also at this time, a tornado warning was issued for Jackson County. The tornado continued east of here causing structural damage along Arnold Road and Noles Drive before crossing Mountain Fork. It then moved across Sharon Johnson Park, causing mostly tree and minor structural damage. It then struck several homes in the Colony Square subdivision before crossing Winchester Road in New Market. At this point, the tornado path became more easterly as it moved into the more rugged terrain of northeastern Madison County. It reached the Jackson County border at 6:21 p.m. All told, over 10,000 Huntsville Utilities customers lost power during the storm.

Dissipation

The tornado weakened considerably as it moved across Putnam Mountain in northwest Jackson County, before ending near Princeton. The official survey indicated the tornado ended southeast of Princeton and east of SR 65. Damage that occurred in this area was mostly F0 damage.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:1995-05-18 Anderson Hills tornado F4, EF4 and IF4 tornadoes Tornadoes of 1995 Tornadoes in Alabama Huntsville-Decatur, AL Combined Statistical Area Jackson County, Alabama Limestone County, Alabama Madison County, Alabama 1995 in Alabama History of Huntsville, Alabama

Anderson Hills tornado On Thursday May 18, 1995, a powerful and destructive F4 tornado struck several towns near the city of Huntsville, Alabama, killing one person and causing extensive damage and devastation, including the destruction of the Anderson Hills subdivisi ...