On February 12, 1945, a devastating tornado outbreak occurred across the Southeastern United States. The storms killed 45 people and injured 427 others. The outbreak included a devastating tornado that struck Montgomery, Alabama, killing 26 people. The United States Weather Bureau described this tornado as "perhaps the most officially observed one in history" as it reached within of the U.S. Weather Bureau's office. Tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis estimated the intensity of the Montgomery tornado to be F3 on the Fujita scale. The Montgomery storm destroyed around 100 houses, as well as two warehouses and a freight train. This is the deadliest tornado to ever impact the city of Montgomery.
Earlier that day, another tornadoalso estimated to be F3 intensitystruck Meridian, Mississippi, killing five to seven people. Located east of the Meridian tornado, the strongest tornado of the day struck near York and Livingston, Alabama, killing 11 people. Grazulis estimated the intensity of this tornado to be F4 on the Fujita scale.
All ratings on the Fujita scale were made by Thomas P. Grazulis and are classified as unofficial ratings, since official ratings for tornadoes only began in 1950. Grazulis only documented tornadoes he considered to be significant (F2+), so the true number of tornadoes for this outbreak is most likely higher. That said, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Birmingham, Alabama, published a list of Alabama's 1945 tornadoes, assigning Fujita scale ratings to the tornadoes, and lending official support to the ratings for these tornadoes.
The tornado started southwest of Montgomery, Alabama, and moved northeast, toward Montgomery, where it brushed the western edge of the city. The tornado leveled two warehouses belonging to either the government or the U.S. army. A freight train was also struck, where, according to the Associated Press, fifty cars "were ripped and tossed about like match boxes". Maxwell Air Force Base was plunged into hours of darkness due to an electrical blackout caused by the tornado, which passed close to the base. After hitting Montgomery, the tornado struck Chisholm, Alabama, where it caused catastrophic damage, including the destruction of 35 homes. All the fatalities from this tornado occurred in 15 homes within a 20-block radius. Along its path, the tornado killed 26 people, injured 293 others, completely destroyed around 100 homes, and caused $1.7 million in damage (around $ million in ).
In his book, Grazulis states that the maximum width of this tornado was , whereas the United States Weather Bureau reported that the tornado was uniformly wide except near Union Station, where it momentarily grew to its peak width of . The Bureau documented that this long-track tornado killed 40 people and injured 200 others. Modern research published by Grazulis and a later publication from the U.S. Weather Bureau indicate that there were actually three separate tornadoes. The Tornado Project, headed by Grazulis, later listed this set of storms as one of the "worst tornadoes" in the history of Alabama.
The entire city of Montgomery lost power for several hours following the tornado. The Alabama governor, Chauncey Sparks, ordered three companies from the Alabama National Guard to the state capital to prevent looting. As news of the tornado's impact on Montgomery and Chisholm spread, curiosity set in as residents attempted to travel to the affected areas "by the thousands", causing traffic congestion and blocking of the roads. Military police from Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Field, along with local law enforcement, eventually cleared the streets of onlookers. Cadets from both military bases were sent to clear away the debris while organizations such as the Red Cross cared for those who were injured or left homeless by the storm.
Floyd C. Pate, a forecaster at the United States Weather Bureau office in Montgomery, Alabama, undertook an extensive assessment of this tornado between 1945 and 1946. During this assessment, Pate called this tornado "perhaps the most officially observed one in history", as it passed away from four different government weather stations, including his own U.S. Weather Bureau office in Montgomery. Fellow U.S. Weather Bureau meteorologist E.D. Emigh stated that he watched the tornado from his downtown observatory.
The radar at Maxwell Field, one of the government weather stations passed by the tornado, determined the forward speed of the tornado to have been , with a height of . The storm which produced the tornado was dry, with no documentable precipitation. It was noted that as the tornado dissipated, a rain shaft formed in place of the tornado, which dropped of rain.