A major tornado roared through much of the northern areas of Jefferson County, but most of Fultondale and all other surrounding communities were spared.

Fultondale officials reported very little damage from the storm, which passed through the city around 3:30 a.m. Monday. The closest damage of any significance was to industrial buildings in the Pawnee area off Pinson Valley Parkway, just east of the city proper. One brick building had a collapsed wall, semi trailers were blown about, and siding from metal buildings hung on power lines.

Police Chief Byron Pigg said some damage was reported in the Mountain Drive area, though that may have been caused by straight-line winds and not a tornado.

To the east and west, folks were not as fortunate.

Preliminary reports indicate major damage in parts of Pinson, Center Point, Clay, Chalkville, Trussville and Argo. There was also damage in the Oak Grove area, not far from the elementary and high school which were built to replace those destroyed in April 1998. Two fatalities have been reported so far by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, one in Oak Grove and another in Clay.

Chief Deputy Randy Christian with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said the storm also resulted in more than 100 injuries and up to 300 homes damaged or destroyed.

On Monday, deputies had established checkpoints at the entrances to the affected areas. Only residents and immediate family members were being allowed in.

Shelters were set up to accommodate displaced residents at Centerpoint First Baptist Church, the Clay Community Center and First Methodist Church in Springville.

The funnel cloud apparently rose back into the clouds as it passed over Fultondale, touching back down in the Pawnee area before moving on to the east. National Weather Service storm teams rated the twister as an EF-3 on the Enhanced Fuljita scale Monday afternoon.

The storm caused Jefferson County Schools officials to close the system for the day, after originally delaying the opening by two hours. That closure caused the postponement of the Fultondale City Council’s Monday meeting, which was to have been held at Fultondale High School. The council meets there once each year; this meeting was also intended to honor the Wildcats football team for its record-setting run into the playoffs last fall.

The council meeting will be moved to Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. in the council chambers.

The school closure also meant that Corner High’s basketball home game with Walker was called off, as was Fultondale’s wrestling match at McAdory.