The March 1, 2007 tornado
EF4Coffee County, Alabama
An EF4 tornado on a 10.3-mile path that killed 9 and injured 50. It was one of 43 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. that day, 6 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Watch how it happened Part of the outbreak of March 1, 2007: 43 tornadoes in 9 statesEF4 tornado · March 1, 2007
How it happened
Follow the tornado’s path, minute by minute.
The tornado
- Rating
- EF4
- Enhanced Fujita scale
- Path length
- 10.3 mi
- Width up to 500 yards
- Killed
- 9
- Along the whole path
- Injured
- 50
- Along the whole path
- Date and time
- Thursday, March 1, 2007
- 1:08 PM CST
The National Weather Service account
Written by the local Weather Service office after its damage survey.
A tornado touched down just southwest of the Enterprise Municipal Airport. It caused minor damage to some houses. Four chicken houses were destroyed. The tornado then traveled northeast and quickly intensified as it moved into the Enterprise city limits. It severely damaged the high school just north of the downtown. Eight students were killed as walls collapsed on them while they took shelter in the interior hallways. Fifty more were injured. The football stadium was destroyed. Many vehicles surrounding the schools were overturned or tossed about. Several state roads were impassible due to debris and fallen utility poles and lines. The ninth fatality occurred where an elderly woman was standing behind a living room window of her home as the glass shattered. A nearby elementary school was heavily damaged with no deaths or injuries reported there. Damage near the high school and in northeast Enterprise reached low end EF-4. Damage assessments indicated 239 homes destroyed, 374 homes with major damage, 529 homes with minor damage, and 251 homes affected. Coffee County was declared a federal disaster area, with preliminary FEMA individual assistance figures totalling over $1 million.
The storm system that day
Severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a warm front over the Florida Panhandle and moved northeast across southeast Alabama and into extreme southwest Georgia during the afternoon hours of March 1. The strongest tornado, classified an EF-4, killed nine and injured 50 in Enterprise, Alabama.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
Counties on its path
Other notable tornadoes that day
- EF4, Wilcox County1 killed
- EF2, Baker County6 killed
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database. Path drawn as a straight line from the recorded start to end point.