March 7, 1961 North and Central Alabama Tornadoes
March 7, 1961 North and Central Alabama Tornadoes
There were two strong F3 tornadoes that swept over North and Central Alabama on Tuesday, March 7, 1961. The first tornado of the day in the state touched down that night about 9:30 p.m. in the Mt. Vernon community in Fayette County. The twister downed trees, damaged homes and destroyed garages as it moved east-northeast through the communities of Bluff and New River.
As the tornado moved into Walker County, it intensified near the Carbon Hill and Kansas communities. The Walker County Sheriff’s Department reported that six homes were destroyed, including the house of Walker County Sheriff Brunner Nix and his family in Kansas. No one in the family was injured, but they lost almost all of their belongings. The tornado also damaged 10-12 other houses and one person was slightly injured.
At approximately 11:40 p.m. that night, another tornado touched down west of Fairview in Cullman County. Moving through the Fairview and Welcome communities, the twister damaged homes, barns and chicken houses, but no one was injured. The chicken house of Pete Bailey was destroyed.
The tornado grew strength as it moved east-northeast into Hulaco in Morgan County. In Hulaco, Mr. and Mrs. O.T. Oliver as well as Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Carter and children were in the Oliver’s storm pit when the twister shredded their home. Everyone escaped unscathed. The Ernest Bolding family, neighbors of the Oliver’s, did not know the storm was coming until they heard a noise “which sounded like a jet plane.” They, their son Danny, and Mr. and Mrs. Hobery Bolding were all in bed when they heard the tornado right before it hit the large two-story house. The floors bucked, the walls caved in, the home was knocked from its foundation and a large tree fell across the roof. Everyone inside survived.
Mr. and Mrs. Grady Goodlett’s home, also in Hulaco, was completely demolished. Mr. Goodlett, who was pinned under the freezer, refrigerator and piles of bricks, managed to climb out of the debris. His wife, who was covered with debris as well, also made her way out. They both rushed to check on Mr. Goodlett’s elderly mother, Mrs. W. Goodlett. She had slept through the storm, without so much as the covers blown off her bed.
The tornado continued to damage homes and buildings as it continued on through Arab, and intensified more as it approached the community of Eddy in Marshall County. This community and Union Grove is where the twister did the most intense damage, leaving behind eight injuries in Eddy. One of the injured, Mrs. Dorothy Williamson, 37, and six others were inside a former church rock building being used as a home when the tornado smashed it to pieces. All seven were injured but Mrs. Williamson’s injuries were the most severe. She suffered a fractured lower back and cuts and was hospitalized in Arab where she was reported in satisfactory condition. At the home of Q. A. “Happy” King, he, his wife and two children – ages 2 years old and 7 ½ years old – were all asleep when the tornado tore off the roof and one end of the new brick house; including part of their bedroom. Miraculously, no one was injured. The King’s next-door neighbor, Garland Betterton, also had severe damage but no one in his family was hurt.
In Union Grove, at least two people were injured including Mrs. Floyd Whisenant, 63, who sustained severe lacerations on her arm when the tornado hit her home. She was admitted to a hospital in Guntersville in satisfactory condition.
At the home of W.B. “Billy” Shelton, Mr. Shelton was briefly knocked unconscious when the storm tore the roof off his house and destroyed all of his farm buildings. The tornado blew over a large two-ton truck and collapsed a concrete garage on top of two vehicles.
Adjacent to Union Grove School, Gordon Shumate had opened a combination service station and store less than a month before. The twister left nothing of the block building but a pile of rubble. The school itself didn’t fare much better – the tornado tore off parts of the roof and knocked down several brick chimneys. Flying debris also smashed several of the school’s windows.
As the tornado approached the Guntersville Dam on the Tennessee River, it flung precast concrete slabs on the roof of a power house like playing cards and severed four TVA power transmission lines, leaving widespread power outages. After passing the dam, the tornado finally lifted.
In all, this tornado destroyed 25 houses and damaged 50 other homes and buildings. It was on the ground for 19.3 miles through Cullman, Morgan and Marshall counties and had a damage path 200 yards wide at its widest point.
Sources:
Alabama Tornado Database -
https://www.weather.gov/bmx/tornadodb_1961
The Anniston Star, March 8, 1961
The Birmingham News, March 8, 1961 pg. 1-2
The Cullman Tribune, March 9, 1961
The Huntsville Times, March 8, 1961 pg. 1-2
The Selma Times-Journal, March 8, 1961 pg. 1 & 12
“Storm Data 1959” p.16
Written by Michelle Henderson
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