Alabama tornado throws school bus onto roof

A deadly tornado picked up a school bus and hurled it onto the roof of a high school in Alabama this weekend.

The brutal storm killed at least three people as it tore through the state, according to Governor Kay Ivey. The winds were particularly fierce in Talladega County on Saturday evening and reached speeds of 120 miles per hour, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

Winterboro High School bore the brunt of the destruction, with part of its roof ripped off and the end of a flipped-over school bus coming to rest on the damaged structure. Nobody was inside the vehicle at the time.

Newsweek has reached out to Winterboro High School by email seeking further information and comment.

The Context

A powerful storm system barreled across the central and southern parts of the United States, killing at least 36 people towards the end of last week. Tornados, torrential rain, hail, thunder, lightning, and dust storms swept through huge swathes of the country, leaving razed homes and toppled cars in the storm’s wake.

Extreme weather has dominated news headlines in recent months, following a series of devastating wind-fueled wildfires in California and a nightmare hurricane season, which sparked severe flooding in North Carolina and other areas.

Some experts fear that climate change will make weather patterns worse in the coming years, with a series of researchers and scientists telling Newsweek their grim predictions for the future.

What To Know

Three Alabamians were killed in the storms over the weekend in Dallas County, Plantersville, and Winterboro. Some 52 of the state’s 67 counties suffered damage, Ivey added in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.

Talladega County has been left reeling as residents and officials begin surveying the damage and picking up the pieces.

Footage from the scene shows debris, including chunks of masonry and wooden beams, littering the area, with fallen trees and vehicles flipped over. Houses and businesses saw their roofs ripped open and windows smashed as the twister churned through the area.

The storm was declared a Category 2 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, which means winds that reach between 111 and 135 mph. An EF-5 tornado, the highest rating, would have winds of more than 200 mph.

Reporter Chaudhary Parvez, who shares news from around the world on his X, formerly Twitter, account posted drone footage that laid bare the scale of the destruction. The 34-second clip, which ends with a shot of the school bus propped on top of Winterboro High School, has been viewed hundreds of times.

The bus had been hurled into the side of the gymnasium behind the main school building, and it’s thought to have struck the gym at around 9 p.m. on Saturday, WBRC 6 News reported.

What People Are Saying

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey shared details on X of the damage and deaths caused by the storm: “The sun has risen in Alabama, though. We pray for those lives we lost, as well as those who were injured. And we pray for our first responders, emergency management officials and linemen who are doing incredible work on the ground right now.”

Speaking before the storm struck, the National Weather Service (NWS) branch based in Birmingham, Alabama, shared an alert online, warning residents: “A High Risk (level 5 out of 5) has been issued for much of the area for Saturday afternoon through the night. Strong, long-tracked tornadoes, damaging winds up to 70 mph, and hail up to 2 inches are possible. Stay aware of the weather, have multiple ways to receive warning information, and plan your safe place and safety kit!”

An update on Sunday morning, just after 11:45 a.m., added: “Our team has found damage consistent with at least an EF-2 tornado with winds of 120 mph in the Winterboro area of Talladega County with the storms Saturday evening.”

What Happens Next?

A huge clean-up operation is underway on Monday, while there are fears the death toll could rise as officials release further information about the storm.