McDonald Chapel F4 Tornado - April 15th, 1956

McDonald Chapel F-4 Tornado - Jefferson County
April 15, 1956


Rating: (Click for F Scale)	F-4
Estimated Maximum Wind:	210-261 mph (from the original F-Scale)
Injuries/Fatalities:	200 Injuries / 25 Fatalities
Damage Path Length:	21.3 miles
Maximum Path Width:	200 yards
Approximate Start Point/Time:	33.5194/-86.9319 at 300 pm
Approximate End Point/Time:	33.6343/-86.6842
Notes:	None

Personal Account of the Tornado

Tornado Information

From the Birmingham National Weather Service archives, here is the information regarding this tornado damage and the ensuing storm surveys:

Page 1	Page 2
Page 3	Page 4

It is apparent from the notes taken during this survey that the 20 mile track that has been part of the story of this tornado, is not necessarily the case. The map below indicates the track of the actual circulation on the ground (purple line between the noted points). The green line at the beginning of the path was noted as straight line winds. The green line at the end of the path was attributed to wind damage not associated with this storm.



Local Storm Reports


Storm Survey Pictures (captions are the hand written notes from the survey)
Looking SW from atop hill in McDonald Chapel	Across road from photo #1, but looking NE
Looking NE. One body was found at man's feet and two others at about the position of the camera	Looking SE. Next door to photo #2. There was almost total destruction within a 300 yard path atop this hill
Looking NE. Local church destroyed.	Looking W, on the floor of Stacy Hollow
Stacy Hollow. Note unusual total destruction in this area. Looking NE, the arrow points to the church destroyed in photo #5	Looking W along ridge west of Stacy Hollow. Tornado dipped into Stacy Hollow and into McDonald Chapel. Small home in background untouched
Looking S. Near photos #1-5.	General view, looking NE across Stacy Hollow. Arrows indicate damage from photo #8
Looking SE in McDonald Chapel area, near school. Note concrete block under auto fender with no damage to fender. Whether this auto is at home is not known	Looking NE, from the same area as #11. Note Chinaberry tree completely stripped, also almost all of brick foundation had been torn away
Same as #9, but looking more SSW. Man in photo lost 3 members of his family in home about two blocks to the right	Looking NE. Entire building at right was removed. Several total losses in left center of photo in McDonald Chapel
Same as #8, looking same direction	Looking NE, in general direction of #10. Again, width of path can be seen as it crosses the ridge in background, marked by two ink marks

Additional Damage Pictures


	Aerials were taken, but this was the best one, as the rest were even more blurry

Synoptic Set Up (Hand Written Analyses from April 15th, 1956)
Surface at 10 pm, Saturday, April 14th	Surface at 10 am, Sunday, April 15th
500mb at 10 pm, Saturday, April 14th	500mb at 10 am, Sunday, April 15th

Local Newspaper Accounts of Storm (from The Birmingham News on April 16, 1956)