ATHENS — Though 100 mph winds late Saturday night damaged several businesses in downtown Athens, but residents are counting themselves fortunate.
“Thankfully, there were no injuries or fatalities,” Mayor Ronnie Marks said. “If it had hit during business hours, we would probably have had injuries and possibly even fatalities. HVAC units, metal roofs and other debris were scattered throughout the downtown area and a path along the railroad tracks to Elm Street.”
According to The National Weather Service, the tornado went through the downtown area of Athens reaching speeds of approximately 100 mph while also achieving a maximum width of 160 yards. It was on the ground for nearly four miles.
The weather service said the most significant damage from the EF-1 storm occurred at an old warehouse at the intersection of Monroe and Pryor Streets and Veterans Memorial Park. The winds at the park threw a helicopter anchored to a metal pole about 50-60 feet.
Dec. 29: Per Street Dept.: Pryor St. around Veterans Museum, The Square & Pecan Park parking lot will remain closed to the public until further notice. pic.twitter.com/4GBYGRdDeU
— City of Athens, AL (@AthensAL) December 29, 2024
Athens Main Street Executive Director Tere Richardson noted the damage caused by the tornado, but said Athens is more than ready to meet the challenges presented by it.
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, who represents the area, pledged his full assistance to those affected by the storm.
I’m saddened to see the damage in downtown Athens, but thankful there were no injuries. As a federal partner, I stand ready to assist local leaders and small business owners with any resources for recovery they might need. https://t.co/AsDumbFiFR
— Dale W. Strong (@RepDaleStrong) December 29, 2024
The Limestone County Courthouse in Athens was largely unaffected by the high winds. However, the historic oak tree in front of the building was not so fortunate.
Meteorologist James Spann posted a picture of the scene.
ATHENS: Many have asked about the warning, or a lack of warning, for the Athens EF-1 tornado last night. Here are some notes…
*A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Athens and much of Limestone County at 10:32p CT, 47 minutes before the tornado touched down (at 11:15p… pic.twitter.com/zRGtipJm3D
— James Spann (@spann) December 29, 2024
The City of Athens has said that the cleanup effort has begun and that workers and merchants are taking part in the community-wide effort to restore the areas damaged.
Marks praised those taking part in clearing the debris and repairing utility damage.
“I saw our crews working throughout Saturday evening and throughout the day Sunday and are working today,” he said. “Several businesses provided meals and water for workers, and because our linemen needed to stay on-site, several of our City Hall employees and I took food and water to them. I appreciate the community and our own employees supporting each other. The crews got a majority of the area cleared in a short amount of time.”
The mayor made a proclamation of emergency conditions for Athens this morning and requested Limestone County EMA Director Eddie Gilbert to implement the agency’s emergency powers as provided by law.
Over 2,000 customers were left without power after the storm. Utilities restored all power outages to all but 62 outages by Sunday night. Everyone is back up today except for businesses with major damage.
The weather service said it has two more storm damage survey crews investigating additional damage areas near Taft, Tenn.; west of Tanner; and south of Hillsboro.
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