Reoccurring Nightmares - The 1998 Birmingham F5 Tornado 

It’s insane that James Spann covered this horrific tornado and 13 years later would cover another horrific tornado that went through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. James Spann truely is one of, if not the best, meteorologists of all time. He not only does his job amazingly, but he says it straight, no sugar coating required. I aspire to be this man when I eventually become a meteorologist myself.

There's something strangely calming about hearing James Spann's coverage, even on an event that happened almost 25 years ago.

When this tornado occurred, I was living in a Tuscaloosa apartment, and remember James Spann warning how dire anyone’s chances of living if hit while above-ground. Spann, an exceptional meteorologist, was right. One of my husband’s employees was a volunteer firefighter/EMT for Oak Grove. He was tasked with recovery efforts, which he described as ‘gruesome.’ My son, who was born in Northport a year later, ironically is now a broadcast meteorologist himself. His inspiration….James Spann.

I was one of the survivors in Edgewater. I made a decision that saved my life. I lived in a small home and knew this storm was going to be a monster so I decided to ride the storm out in a drainage ditch under the road. It was an insane moment in my life and my house was completely gone with only the foundation left standing. Btw, James Spann is the goat.

Born and raised in rock creek. We were the only house left standing in our neighborhood. Saw things I'll never forget that evening. I'll never forget James Spann telling tonget into our safe area immediately. We were all crying and scared and my dad was on the front porch wanting to see it without any fear. I remember how quickly he changed when he said a cloud was blocking the lightning and realized that it was a tornado. He said it looked like a wall of wind you couldn't see past. He grabbed us all at the same time and threw us down the stairs into the basement.

This was an absolutely horrible day for us. I grew up with Matthew Seale’s son that was mentioned, Nathan, and it was the first time I experienced losing a friend. Absolutely awful.

babe wake up, new weatherbox video just dropped

I was 8 when this outbreak happened, I'll never forget it. I grew up an hour northwest of Birmingham. It happened on a Wednesday, and my church took a group of people to Oak Grove high school to help clean up on Saturday. I remember hearing that one of the goalposts from the football field was found stuck upside-down in the ground a couple hundred yards away from where it had been. It was not quite at F5 intensity when it hit the school, but it was a direct impact. It's a miracle that nobody inside the school was killed.

I lived through this. I'm about 80% sure the house approximately mid-frame at 10:03 is my childhood home. The tornado skipped our house but took out (essentially) the rest of the neighborhood. Fortunately, our neighbors on either side weren't home at the time. James Spann visited our school the following year and spoke on tornado safety. I distinctly remember him demonstrating super cells with a hula hoop like you did. Such an incredible video; thank you tremendously for making this.

I was in Rock Creek, Al when that monster hit our church. I've never been so frightened and the aftermath was unbelievable. It was my first time to take out my parents new 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee. After climbing over rubble, I found it sitting without much damage. I've never seen that much debris piled, or house after house with only front steps leftover. I can still hear my fellow church members screaming to this day. So loud, the wind distorted their voices.

Life long Birmingham Alabama resident here 👍💕 I graduated highschool from Mortimer Jordan in 2001. A week after this storm hit Oak Grove we were playing Oak Grove at our home softball field and the weather turned bad, with the sirens going off. Those poor girls/fans started crying in a panic.

I remember this was "The Big One" before April 27th and I always was fascinated by the set up on that day. My father who's a Lt. for a fire department remembers watching it go by as he saw the power flashes as it chewed Oak Grove to shreds. I always heard crazy stories that this monster did, from angels protecting the people in a church near Cottondale to more horrifying ones where people were impaled in trees. This F5 to me still beats April 27th by a lot. It truly was Hell on that night.

98 was so insane that this monster gets forgotten. Between downtown Nashville's F3 that spring and yes, even Pittsburgh being hit with an F1 in the summer. Truly crazy year for tornadoes.

Many cities have similar tornadoes every few decades. Birmingham is probably the biggest example outside of OKC. Nashville also had eerily similar tornadoes in 1933, 1998, and 2020.

This tornado ripped through my hometown of Sylvan Springs just east of Oak Grove shortly after wiping out the high school. I was born later that year and had always been interested in weather after hearing about April 8. Then April 27, 2011 occurred and I knew from then that I wanted to be a meteorologist, highly inspired by James Spann. I am also blessed enough to say I now work with James at ABC 33/40 as the weekend meteorologist so it is definitely a full circle moment!

Hey weatherbox, just wanted to say thank you for inspiring me to continue my education in meteorology. I currently just got accepted into the University of Louisville for geographical Meteorology. Thank you for your content, it is super interesting and informative. Keep up the good work.

Great video. You talked about how a tornado might actually hit an event that didn’t heed a warning. During the 1983 Iron Bowl at Legion Field in Birmingham, Jefferson County went under a tornado warning in the fourth quarter as Bo Jackson scored the game-winning TD. The game wasn’t suspended. Fortunately, it never came together, but ABC recorded the heavy rain and winds as it hit the stadium.

What I've noticed over time is that twisters stay out of Jones Valley, which is the densely packed central Bham. The twisters seem to trek outside the rail line that borders Ensley and Pratt City on the north and Red Mtn on the south.

I agree with what you said about a tornado nailing a a large gathering of people, I'm always worried about that happening to a music festival which would be worst case scenario, a field full of anywhere between 10k-100k people whose only shelter is gonna be their tents/vehicles anywhere closeby (some venues may have small buildings or something like that scattered around the grounds but certainly not anything substantial or large enough for everyone) I can't imagine what the scene would look like and hope it never does end up occuring

Awesome video! I grew up in Tuscaloosa and was 10 when this tornado happened, I remember this night really well. It was a Wednesday night and we were at church, the sirens were going off so we had to rush home and watched James Spann’s coverages. A few days after we drove up to Oak Grove to see the damage and all that was left of homes were the foundation and all the trees had been stripped of bark. I’ll never forget that. Also, thanks for briefly touching on the 12/16/00 F4 in Tuscaloosa, that tornado missed our house by .25 miles, that’s the most scared I’ve ever been.

This tornado is often forgotten. Same with the other F5 tornado in 1998 that occurred in Tennessee . But I’ve always wondered how it received it’s F5 rating because all Of the damage photos it never showed F5 damage .

Another great video! 1998 was quite the year for tornadoes

I trust James Spann with my entire life, his voice comforts me through every tornado season 🥰

Your thoughtful, rational approach to these videos is much appreciated. I really enjoy them, especially these "historic storm" overview-type entries. Can't wait for your take on the Parkersburg-New Hartford EF5 of 2008. I'm from that neck of the woods. Keep up the good work!

Love when Weatherbox posts. I stop what I'm doing and watch it through.

It blows my mind that Dixie alley doesn’t have better radar coverage considering how deadly it is during tornado outbreaks. They need more radar sites for sure. I do think social media is certainly helping individuals be more prepared before & during the events though.

This was my first tornado warning home alone. I lived in roebuck, just a couple miles east of the Airport. On the east side of Birmingham. I remember that day like it was yesterday.

New favorite upstart RU-vid channel. Thanks for all the hard work. Fascinating videos to watch!

Great work Weatherbox! I appreciate your insight on tornadoes.

I’ve missed you and your videos so much! Watched thru them ALL so I was fiending for more of this premium content. Thank you ❤

Great video! I absolutely love the way you explain the meteorology in your videos.

Why does it take so long for me to find this channel, years and years and years after being online. Fantastic content, well researched and totally great presentation. Thanks Steve. Immediately subscribed.

One unique aspect of the tornado: This is only a handful of F5/EF5 to occur at night. For the most part, statistics show that if a violent tornado occurs at night, they are rated F4/EF4. The only other nocturnal F5/EF5's I can think of are Greensburg 2007, Barnaveld 1984, both Tanner events/Guin 1974, Lubbock 1970, Blackwell 1955, Udall 1955, and Flint 1953. Ruskin Heights 1957 touched down in the daytime and dissipated after dark.

I was too young to remember this tornado, but I lived in Huntsville, AL during the April 27 tornado outbreak and I would love to see you do a video about it! Love that you're spreading awareness to this. Folks in Alabama don't have a healthy fear of the weather. Keep up the great work!

i've never been so early to an upload. how terrifying!!! alabama has by far the most violent tornadoes ive ever seen.

just got off a stressful day at work so this is absolutely perfect to unwind to :D thanks for all the hard work making content, seriously this is like the best part of my day so far lol

you, mr. weatherbox, are a great feeder of my hyperfixation of tornadoes and storms in general. i love your techno music and visuals that you give, its very educational and amusing

Hey, glad to see the gradual polishing of your editing style over the last few months🎉

Your weather Videos are by far the best I’ve ever seen

As an amateur weather enthusiast, your visual explanations of different phenomena are absolutely on point. Thank you so much.

Weatherbox, I always learn so much about weather conditions every time I watch your videos. Thank you for not only explaining the conditions that cause these tornadoes but also explaining them in layman’s terms!

Thanks for all the work you do into explaining the weather setup the leads to these extreme weather events. Your videos are by far the best produced, education packed, and most interesting out there. Have a happy Thanksgiving from this Canadian!

Love the haircut, it looks slick! Thanks for the video, great stuff as always

Your videos are the best man, you have that perfect combination of info, animation and the perfect voice/vernacular, I always get excited and look forward to a long future of your content

Very well put together video man.

All the video, you are very good at describing stuff for newbies like myself. Thank you so much look forward to seeing uploads

i’m new to your chanel and I have to say this is great, subscribed

Another exceptional video, thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving bud... thanks for the videos

You are a fantastic science communicator. That ball and tub of water explanation was so intuitive.

Outstanding sweater. And thank you for the content.

Great work dude!

My new favorite channel!

Such amazing production 😍

your videos are so good thank you mr weatherbox for making my day

Great video. I'm a meteorologist and was living in Nashville during the 2020 central TN tornadoes. I'd love to see those covered in a future video.

I so appreciate your videos!

Great video. As someone who was born in 91 I remember this all too well. Would love to see a video on the Blizzard of 92 that occured here sometime!

Another spectacular video.

I didn't even know about this tornado Thank you for the video.

Hope you tipped your barber well. It looks great. Also thanks for covering this one, pretty underrated.

Love your videos dude. Will you ever do one on the 2011 super outbreak and or the Joplin outbreak ?

A great way to end the day. Thank you @weatherbox Steve. Happy Thanksgiving all. 🦃

Great job. I live in BHM and remember this well. I had friends who lived in Sylvan Springs whose home was flattened. They appear in the news footage at the beginning of your video. Of course, 4/27/2011 was off the scale… I hope to never experience that again. Thank you.

Fantastic video!!!!🎉

The intro music plus the video earned an instant like, I haven't found someone who loves the same vibes!

Your videos are so interesting

Can I just say I love the music at the beginning of all your videos?

You are such a great video maker. You also seem like a great guy. You have taught me so much about tornados. I live and grew up in the Pacific northwest. A few years back we had a F 3 blow though port orchard Washington. I would love if you could look at this tornado. It did damage to building's and neighborhoods. We had no warnings. I live about 8 miles from there. I will always remember how green the sky got. Thank you for making great videos

Thanks for using the fish tank and ball to explain the energy release. I never understood that part formation before.

I love your videos man,I also loved the background music you are using and I want to know the name of the music at 11:20 thank you so much

Is this you on the Synth? Some of these intros are amazing dude

Love the fresh cut 🔥🔥

Your videos are genius. Expertise enough for advanced meteorologists, but explained in a way that normal folks can understand.

Excellent and informative video.

I remember that day. I had moved back home to Birmingham after 20 years of living in Michigan. My apartment was in Bessemer -4 miles east of Oak Grove and 4 miles west of Alabaster (suburbs of B'ham) where two of the tornadoes went that night. The f5 went thru Oak Grove and an f3 went thru Alabaster. I was terrified. There were no storm shelters and no basements in my apartment complex. it was also Good Friday.

Thanks for posting this. I lived in Alabama and survived both those supercells!!

I was in the 2011 tornado and I will never forget the doors and walls sucking in and out on me and it felt as if it was trying to come kill me personally.

I was 8 and I lived in north Birmingham with my grandma when this occurred. I remember that the clouds were dark and ominous all afternoon. That evening we watched in horror as the tornado destroyed the local neighborhoods. My grandma realized that we would soon be in the path of the storm. It was terrifying to know that an EF4 was only a mile and a half away and barreling towards us. Grandma put my 5 year old brother and I in a closet just as the power went out. We sat in the dark and listened to a battery radio. I remember hearing the wind and rain howling outside and a constant distant thunder. We were all scared, there was nothing we could do but wait and pray. Then it just dissipated. It was over in the blink of an eye and we were spared. I don’t know if I would be here today if that tornado had kept on its path but I am thankful it didn’t. We were lucky but others were not. My heart goes out to those killed on that day. It’s a date I’ll never forget.

I will never forget the 98 , 2011 , storm I have lived in the area my whole life , the 98 storm for me was particularly more frightening because the home I was living in and had just moved from a week earlier was totally demolished, but both storms will always be remembered

nice. good stuff.

Remember this storm very well. Oak Grove and the western end of the county got hit really hard. The April 27 2011 tornado followed a similar path as well.

@weatherbox why not do the tornadoes of 2004. That year I believe has the record for the most tornadoes in a year in the US

I love your channel SO MUCH. I’m a weather nut now.

Hey 👋 I am new to your channel 🙂 I have subbed and liked the video greetings from Ireland.we are blessed here in Ireland that we don't get Tornadoes like you guys get we get small ones but not as severe as over there but with climate change we probably will get them in years to come.I love your content you explain how the Tornadoes formed very good 👍 keep up the good work 😊

My mom remembers the 1977 tornado (she lived in Roebuck near the tornado damage from that one) and I remember being chased home by thunderstorms on the afternoon of April 8th 1998 in Pinson on the east side of Birmingham. We went to Oak Grove in 2001 for a school function and I remember seeing brick steps leading up to nothing and limbless tree trunks still stripped of bark. The new high school was really nice.

I remember this night. We lived in Pinson at the time but moved to Concord a few years afterwards. You could still still the damage from Oak Grove years later- driveways with no house, steps to nowhere, etc. Ironically, Concord was hit by an EF4 on April 27th. Some areas seem more prone than others and get hit several times over the years.

You should make a video about the 1998 Kissimmee tornado outbreak, I'd love to hear your take on it

Great video! Though your baseball footage wasn’t of the Birmingham Barons. It was of the Former Huntsville Stars. The former AAA team that was in Huntsville Alabama. Speaking of Huntsville, please do a video on the 1989 Airport Road Tornado. It was the worst tornado to hit Huntsville Alabama causing EF 4 Damage in a heavily developed part of the city. It was part of the November 1989 tornado outbreak

Best RU-vid channel!

I might take up meteorology as a minor… my brother studies it in great detail too. Recently subbed and enjoy your analyses very much! Well done.

Pratt City (western Birmingham) have seen damaging deadly tornadoes (F5-F4, EF4) in 77, 98 and 2011, with a close call in the 1974 outbreak!! I was in all of them. Thx for remembering 1998.

I'm glad a sweater from the event survived and you were able to wear it.

Stuff like this makes me worried for my parents. They're deaf and most news stations don't do captions even during emergency situations. Especially in rural areas like where I live.

December seems to be a rowdy time for weather in Mississippi. I remember a few years ago there being a tornado on Christmas. It went through rural towns. Also December 10thish was the day I moved into my current house in Mississippi and that was the day of the Mayfield tornado but we had our own severe weather that night too

You should look at the Plainfield, IL tornado. Only recorded F5 in August.

Incredible video, but I have a slightly off topic question. What mic do you use for these videos? I've been trying to find a good mic and haven't been successful

Steve’s ready with a fresh cut and a swaggin’ sweater. Always great content and helpful explanations for weather phenomena.

Nice sweater dude!!!

Did a double take when I heard a familiar team name mentioned, one of my first jobs was working at the Mudcats stadium. I remember one evening watching a shelf cloud approach the stadium from across the highway, with both the general and assistant managers staring at the cloud with radios at the ready. Most of the fans had already come down from the stands, and were milling around the covered part of the concourse or ducking into the restrooms for cover. It passed over with no funnel thankfully.