A destructive tornado outbreak struck a wide swath of the Southern and Eastern United States as well as Canada on November 15 and 16, 1989.

Nine more fatalities occurred at a single elementary school by an F1 tornado on November 16 in Newburgh, New York, although further survey revealed that this might have been a downburst instead.

[4] The Zone and Local Forecasts issued during the early morning, Tuesday, November 14, mentioned the possibility of severe thunderstorms on Wednesday.

Soon after the issuance of the watch, emergency management officials, storm spotters and the NWS staff at Huntsville placed into effect a coordinated plan of action in accordance with established procedures.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 15, 1989, at 4:35 p.m. CST (21:35 UTC), a tornado struck the southern portion of the city of Huntsville, cutting a swath of destruction from southwest toward the northeast through a business section and a heavily populated residential area.

[6] The tornado struck during the beginning of rush hour and touched down initially on Redstone Arsenal and then moved into a business area crossing two major north–south highways.

Twelve of the 21 deaths (57 percent) occurred in automobiles, a striking similarity to the 1979 tornado that struck Wichita Falls, Texas.

In the Huntsville tornado, most of those killed in cars were in the process of performing normal tasks as opposed to seeking automobiles for safety.

[6] According to information shared with the National Weather Service by Duane Stiegler with Dr. Ted Fujita's group from the University of Chicago, the initial point of damage occurred one mile south-southwest of Madkin Mountain on Redstone Arsenal near the intersection of Fowler Road and Mills Road at around 4:30 p.m. (21:30 UTC).

The storm then moved into a sparsely developed area, but it did cause about $1 million in damage to Huntsville's garbage-burning plant which was nearing the end of construction.

[6] From the school, the tornado crossed Garth Road and moved across a portion of Jones Valley Subdivision, a development of well-constructed single family homes.

It moved across the present-day location of Madison County High School (not built until 1999) and continued on an east-northeast track over Reed Mountain and Jasper Point to a small lake (known as Smith Lake) at the headwaters of the Killingsworth Cove Branch, a small creek which feeds into the Flint River.

[6] The total path length was 18.5 miles (29.8 km) from the initial beginning on Redstone Arsenal to its end at Smith Lake.

[6] A summary of damage from reports gathered by the Huntsville Times included: Official records state that the F1 tornado touched down to the south in Monroe at approximately 12:31 p.m. EST (17:31 UTC), moving north for around nine miles (14 km) to the East Coldenham area.