OTD in 1956: Tornadoes Rake South Central Alabama

Just after midnight, on an early Sunday morning, just two days before Christmas, a family of four small tornadoes skipped along a remarkable 121.7-mile corridor across South Central Alabama, impacting Monroe, Conecuh, Butler, Lowndes, Montgomery, Elmore, and Tallapoosa counties. Beginning in Excel, the tornadoes skipped through Burnt Corn, Searcy, Fort Deposit, Pintlala, Snowdoun, and Mt. Meigs before lifting near Reeltown.

The tornadoes caused considerable damage in several communities along their extended track. Two residences and an auto repair shop in Excel were destroyed with two residents having to be rescued from their collapsed home. A number of homes were damaged at Burnt Corn in northern Monroe County.

In Fort Deposit, a home was heavily damaged, and the bleachers at the high school football stadium were damaged as well. Touchdowns were reported at Snowdoun. The most significant damage occurred at Mt. Meigs, where 4 homes were destroyed and hundreds of trees uprooted. Tom Grazulis rated this tornado as an F2 in his Significant Tornadoes work.

Coming just two days before Christmas, the storms were especially impactful. “Neatly wrapped Christmas presents were scattered for hundreds of feet and a decorated Christmas tree was found among the wreckage at Mt. Meigs,” reported the Associated Press.

Just another reminder that tornadoes don’t take the holidays off in Alabama.

Category: ALL POSTS, Met 101/Weather History