States › Alabama › Baldwin County

Baldwin County, Alabama

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 01003 · 239,294 residents (2021) · 1,590 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 178Tornado · 116Flood · 134Wind · 358Winter · 0

Baldwin County within Alabama. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 860 storm events in Baldwin County, Alabama, led by damaging wind.

That is 54.1 events per 100 square miles, below the Alabama figure of 87.3, and 35.9 per 10,000 residents against 87.8 statewide.

11 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 9 deaths and 127 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $45M.

FEMA has designated the county in 38 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Hurricane Helene (emergency, 26 Sep 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 19,745 claims since 1978, of which 15,581 were paid, totalling $659M (about $42K per paid claim). FEMA counts 9,007 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($237M a year across 18 hazards).

90 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 20 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

11events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

860events since 19509 deaths, 127 injuries recorded

38disaster declarationslast 26 Sep 2024

19,745NFIP flood claims$659M paid

Compared with Alabama and the United States

Measure	Baldwin County	Alabama	US
Recorded events since 1950	860	44,232	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	54.1	87.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	35.9	87.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	11	1,348	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	9	941	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$45M	$12B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	82.5	8.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$42K	$34K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	37.4	21.5	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 1Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Tornado: 9Wind: 2

Hail: 6Tornado: 16Wind: 9

Hail: 9Tornado: 21Wind: 48

Hail: 58Tornado: 17Flood: 8Wind: 86Lightning: 14

Hail: 58Tornado: 24Flood: 39Wind: 66Lightning: 15Other: 11

Hail: 16Tornado: 9Flood: 48Wind: 62Lightning: 8Other: 10

Hail: 30Tornado: 19Flood: 39Wind: 84Lightning: 6Other: 10

31950s111960s311970s781980s1831990s2132000s1532010s1882020s

Recorded events in Baldwin County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 423 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 343 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind358

Hail178

Flood134

Tornado116

Lightning43

Other31

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	358	—	1.7%	detail
■ Hail	178	—	2.2%	detail
■ Flood	134	2	4.0%	detail
■ Tornado	116	—	3.6%	detail
■ Lightning	43	7	6.0%
■ Other	31	—	6.1%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
23 Jul 2005	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	2	—	County
5 Jul 2015	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	7	County
26 Aug 2017	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	5	County
29 Apr 2014	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$27M	—	1	1	County
16 Jul 2006	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
7 Aug 2010	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
2 May 2014	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
15 Aug 2019	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
10 Feb 1981	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	62	County
8 Jun 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$2.5M	—	—	10	County
1 Feb 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	$10K	—	—	5	County
1 Feb 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	—	5	County
27 Nov 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$400K	—	—	4	County
3 Nov 1968	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	4	County
22 Apr 2018	Tornado	Tornado	EF0	$100K	—	—	3	County
24 Dec 1964	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	3	County
3 Aug 2010	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	2	County
13 Apr 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	—	—	—	2	County
2 Jan 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$950K	—	—	1	County
9 Mar 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$70K	—	—	1	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
26 Sep 2024	EM-3618	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Helene	Public assistance
20 Sep 2020	DR-4563	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sally	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Sep 2020	EM-3545	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sally	Public assistance
29 Mar 2020	DR-4503	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3472	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
12 Oct 2018	EM-3407	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Michael	Public assistance
16 Nov 2017	DR-4349	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Nate	Public assistance
8 Oct 2017	EM-3394	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Nate	Public assistance
11 Sep 2017	EM-3389	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irma	Public assistance
2 May 2014	DR-4176	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
21 Sep 2012	DR-4082	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isaac	Public assistance
28 Apr 2011	DR-1971	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
27 Apr 2011	EM-3319	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-Line Winds	Public assistance
22 Dec 2009	DR-1866	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Ida	Public assistance
28 Apr 2009	DR-1835	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes & Straight-Line	Public assistance
26 Sep 2008	DR-1797	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Hurricane Ike	Public assistance
10 Sep 2008	DR-1789	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
30 Aug 2008	EM-3292	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3237	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
29 Aug 2005	DR-1605	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Aug 2005	EM-3214	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
10 Jul 2005	DR-1593	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Dennis	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Sep 2004	DR-1549	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ivan	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 May 2003	DR-1466	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
9 Oct 2002	DR-1438	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Isidore	Public assistance
30 Sep 1998	DR-1250	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Georges - 18 Sep 98	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Sep 1998	EM-3133	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Georges	Public assistance
25 Jul 1997	DR-1185	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding,High Winds, Assoc With Hurr Danny	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Oct 1995	DR-1070	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Opal	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Mar 1993	EM-3096	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall, Winter Storm	Public assistance
21 Mar 1990	DR-861	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 Sep 1985	DR-742	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Elena	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Sep 1979	DR-598	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Frederic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Mar 1979	EM-3074	Emergency	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
9 Aug 1978	DR-563	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
20 Jul 1977	EM-3045	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
27 Mar 1973	DR-369	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 Nov 1969	DR-280	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Camille	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Baldwin County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197819,745

Paid claims15,581

Total paid$659M

Average paid claim$42K

Repetitive-loss properties2,292316 severe

Residential policies in force9,0079.3% of 97,390 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	23	19	$1,680,231	$88,433
2024	7	1	$12,150	$12,150
2023	4	3	$153,969	$51,323
2022	3	0	$0	—
2021	29	24	$352,981	$14,708
2020	3,199	2,514	$121,970,636	$48,517
2019	6	2	$23,651	$11,825
2018	9	5	$35,931	$7,186
2017	92	61	$1,214,608	$19,912
2016	8	5	$81,309	$16,262
2015	3	1	$34,671	$34,671
2014	1,004	834	$44,575,152	$53,447
2013	18	7	$124,108	$17,730
2012	95	75	$797,356	$10,631
2011	7	0	$0	—
2010	5	1	$1,965	$1,965
2009	47	36	$674,483	$18,736
2008	256	221	$1,861,341	$8,422
2007	39	29	$614,912	$21,204
2006	3	2	$13,310	$6,655
2005	2,592	2,293	$75,850,217	$33,079
2004	5,411	4,679	$331,777,173	$70,908
2003	22	10	$273,377	$27,338
2002	612	457	$3,148,125	$6,889
2001	4	2	$13,341	$6,670

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Highscore 96.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$237MRelatively High

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Hurricane	Very High	$159,426,444
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$48,318,718
Tornado	Relatively High	$9,009,104
Lightning	Very High	$4,078,399
Coastal flooding	Relatively High	$4,050,520
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$3,660,690
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$3,618,716
Strong wind	Relatively High	$1,567,643
Wildfire	Relatively Moderate	$1,500,314
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$915,653
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$663,704
Hail	Relatively Low	$414,072
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$86,246
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$77,135
Landslide	Relatively Low	$3,798

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles90

Tracks within 50 miles46

Hurricane strength within 50 miles20

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Sally	2020	14 mi	109 mph
Gordon	2018	48 mi	69 mph
Nate	2017	70 mi	75 mph
Lee	2011	67 mi	46 mph
Claudette	2009	69 mi	46 mph
Ida	2009	29 mi	58 mph
Arlene	2005	29 mi	58 mph
Cindy	2005	69 mi	46 mph
Dennis	2005	42 mi	127 mph
Ivan	2004	33 mi	121 mph
Hanna	2002	43 mi	58 mph
Allison	2001	45 mi	46 mph
Barry	2001	80 mi	69 mph
Helene	2000	69 mi	58 mph
Georges	1998	39 mi	104 mph
Danny	1997	20 mi	81 mph
Erin	1995	15 mi	98 mph
Opal	1995	46 mi	115 mph
Alberto	1994	76 mi	63 mph
Elena	1985	70 mi	121 mph
Juan	1985	25 mi	63 mph
Frederic	1979	46 mi	132 mph
Eloise	1975	92 mi	127 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1969	57 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1965	53 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

36542 9,449
36561 4,778
36532 1,297
36535 713
36530 693
36564 515
36547 299
36580 277
36526 265
36555 250
36549 179
36574 147
36527 104
36576 89
36511 84
36559 58
36536 54
36567 49
36507 42
36500 30
36551 27
36533 18
35642 9
36000 9
36534 9
36562 9
35470 8
36579 7
36452 5
36550 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Baldwin County, AL?

NCEI records 178 hail events in Baldwin County since 1950, in 41 different years; that is about 2.3 recorded events a year. 46 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Baldwin County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 116 tornadoes in Baldwin County since 1950, 18 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Baldwin County?

26 Sep 2024: Hurricane Helene, a emergency declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 38 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Baldwin County, and how much was paid?

19,745 NFIP claims since 1978, 15,581 of them paid, for $659M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Baldwin County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively High" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Moderate" for social vulnerability and "Very High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Baldwin County compare with the rest of Alabama?

54.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 87.3 statewide, and 82.5 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.9. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.