Tornado damages Athens downtown square, rips roof off Limestone County Courthouse, Alabama
A powerful EF-1 tornado tore through Athens, Alabama, late Saturday night, December 28, 2024, causing widespread damage to the Limestone County Courthouse, downtown businesses, and Alabama Veterans Park.
A severe storm ripped through Alabama overnight Saturday, December 28, into Sunday morning, producing an EF-1 tornado that tore the roof off the Limestone County Courthouse and caused damage to the square in downtown Athens. Alabama Veterans Park was severely affected, with a helicopter that had been on display knocked over.
The tornado had peak winds of up to 161 km/h (100 mph), tearing through a path of roughly 146 m (479 feet). The town square in Athens was covered with storm debris, including downed Christmas decorations, tree limbs, and bricks, according to the City of Athens. The square around the courthouse remained closed Sunday morning to allow cleanup to begin.
The city estimated that roughly a dozen businesses in downtown Athens suffered damage, with some experiencing significant impacts. Two vehicles were damaged in the storm, and trees were downed on Jefferson, East, and Nuclear Plant streets, as well as in other areas. Additionally, ten utility poles were damaged.
At the height of the storm, approximately 2 500 homes in the Athens area were without power. However, by 08:00 local time (LT) on Sunday morning, that number had been reduced to 750, according to the Limestone County EMA.
Holly Hollman, spokeswoman for the city of Athens, stated that she lives about two blocks from downtown, where most of the storm damage occurred.
Hollman reported that the storm hurled large HVAC units from the tops of buildings, tore the roof off a bookstore, and damaged a brick building adjacent to the veterans museum.
“I stepped out on my porch, and I could hear it roar,” she said. “I think we are extremely lucky that it hit late at night. If it had struck during busy hours, there might have been injuries or even fatalities.”
References:
1 ‘Significant’ damage in north Alabama, EF-1 tornado blows roof off courthouse – AL.com -December 29, 2024
2 PHOTOS: Tornado causes significant damage in downtown Athens – Waka 8 – December 29, 2024
Featured image credit: City of Athens
Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.
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