The original tower in Montgomery was destroyed by a massive tornado on March 6, 1996. The station was able to restore service for cable customers later that afternoon with help from WSFA and AT&T Cable (later to become Charter; now Spectrum). One month later, WCOV returned to the air on a temporary tower. The station applied to the FCC to resume full-power operations from a new tower in Grady, with a power increase to a full five megawatts. The FCC granted the request and issued a construction permit. In January 1997, the station activated its new tower.