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Tanner, Alabama
Tanner, Alabama is located in Alabama
Tanner, Alabama
Tanner, Alabama
Location in Alabama
Tanner, Alabama is located in the United States
Tanner, Alabama
Tanner, Alabama
Location in the United States
Country United States
State Alabama
County Limestone
Elevation
666 ft (203 m)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
35671
Area code(s) 256
GNIS feature ID 153647

Tanner is a small community in Limestone County, Alabama, in the United States. It's not a city, but an unincorporated community. Tanner is located in central southern Alabama. It is part of the larger Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. You can find Tanner about nine miles north of Decatur and four miles south of Athens.

Education in Tanner

Tanner is proud to be home to Tanner High School. Their sports teams are called the Rattlers. It's a 2A school, which is a classification system for schools in Alabama.

The school's boys' and girls' basketball teams have achieved something special. They both won state championships in the same years, 1986 and 2011! This makes Tanner High the only school in Alabama to do this. The boys' soccer team also won a state title in 2023.

Tanner's History

Tanner started as a settlement in the 1800s, growing along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. It was first known as McDonald's Station, then later as Rowland. A post office was set up in Rowland in 1878.

In 1913, the Tanner post office was opened. It was named after Samuel Tanner. He was the very first mayor of the nearby city of Athens.

Tornadoes and Tanner

Tanner has unfortunately experienced some very powerful tornadoes.

On April 3, 1974, during an event called the 1974 Super Outbreak, two extremely strong tornadoes hit the community. These tornadoes were both about one-third of a mile wide. They struck within 30 minutes of each other during the early evening. Both were rated F5, which is the highest level on the Fujita Scale for tornado strength. These powerful storms tragically caused many lives to be lost and were very destructive.

Years later, on April 27, 2011, during another major event known as the 2011 Super Outbreak, Tanner was hit again. This time, a very large EF5 tornado struck the area. This tornado was over 1 mile (1.6 km) wide. It was incredibly powerful and caused significant damage and loss of life in Limestone County and other areas. This was the third F5 or EF5 tornado to affect Tanner and its surrounding communities.

Tanner's Climate

The weather in Tanner is known for its hot and humid summers. Winters are generally mild to cool. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Tanner has a humid subtropical climate. This type of climate is often shown as "Cfa" on climate maps.

Notable People from Tanner

Tanner has been home to some well-known individuals:

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