States › Alabama › Clarke County

Clarke 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 01025 · 22,760 residents (2021) · 1,238 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 121Tornado · 45Flood · 48Wind · 329Winter · 26

Clarke 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 612 storm events in Clarke County, Alabama, led by damaging wind.

That is 49.4 events per 100 square miles, below the Alabama figure of 87.3, and 268.9 per 10,000 residents against 87.8 statewide.

2 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 26 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $8.6M and crop damage at $3.0M.

FEMA has designated the county in 28 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Hurricane Helene (emergency, 26 Sep 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 31 claims since 1978, of which 27 were paid, totalling $895K (about $33K per paid claim). FEMA counts 28 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($13M a year across 18 hazards).

69 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 5 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

2events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

612events since 19502 deaths, 26 injuries recorded

28disaster declarationslast 26 Sep 2024

31NFIP flood claims$895K paid

Compared with Alabama and the United States

Measure	Clarke County	Alabama	US
Recorded events since 1950	612	44,232	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	49.4	87.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	268.9	87.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	2	1,348	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	941	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$8.6M	$12B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.4	8.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$33K	$34K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	35.7	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

Tornado: 3

Tornado: 2Wind: 1

Hail: 2Tornado: 3Wind: 2

Hail: 17Tornado: 5Wind: 26

Hail: 25Tornado: 7Flood: 5Wind: 45Tropical: 1Cold: 1Lightning: 1

Hail: 32Tornado: 5Flood: 13Wind: 50Winter: 6Tropical: 4Heat: 2Lightning: 5Other: 3

Hail: 26Tornado: 10Flood: 21Wind: 99Winter: 18Tropical: 1Heat: 1Drought: 3Lightning: 9Other: 8

Hail: 19Tornado: 10Flood: 9Wind: 106Winter: 2Tropical: 2Lightning: 2

31950s31960s71970s481980s851990s1202000s1962010s1502020s

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

Trend: 387 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 184 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

Wind329

Hail121

Flood48

Tornado45

Winter26

Lightning17

Other11

Tropical8

Heat3

Drought3

Cold1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	329	—	1.6%	detail
■ Hail	121	—	1.5%	detail
■ Flood	48	—	1.4%	detail
■ Tornado	45	—	1.4%	detail
■ Winter	26	—	1.8%	detail
■ Lightning	17	—	2.4%
■ Other	11	—	2.2%
■ Tropical	8	—	1.6%
■ Heat	3	1	0.2%
■ Drought	3	—	0.1%
■ Cold	1	1	0.1%

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
5 Jan 1999	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
3 Aug 2012	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
18 Mar 1996	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$1.0M	—	—	15	County
25 Nov 1979	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	2	County
18 May 1986	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	2	County
17 Mar 2021	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	—	—	—	2	County
14 Apr 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.2M	—	—	1	County
18 Mar 1996	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$75K	—	—	1	County
23 Jan 1953	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25K	—	—	1	County
21 Apr 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$5K	—	—	1	County
11 Sep 2024	High Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	—	1	Forecast zone
15 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$102K	$3.0M	—	—	County
2 Jan 2017	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$750K	—	—	—	County
5 Jun 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County
3 Mar 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$365K	—	—	—	County
25 Sep 1998	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$300K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
2 Mar 1971	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	—	County
3 Dec 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
7 Feb 2020	Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
24 Nov 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$200K	—	—	—	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
10 Dec 2020	DR-4573	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Zeta	Individual assistance, Public assistance
20 Sep 2020	DR-4563	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sally	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
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
28 Apr 2011	DR-1971	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Apr 2011	EM-3319	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-Line Winds	Public assistance
31 Dec 2009	DR-1870	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
28 Apr 2009	DR-1835	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes & Straight-Line	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	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
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
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
13 Sep 1979	DR-598	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Frederic	Individual assistance, 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

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 Clarke County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197831

Paid claims27

Total paid$895K

Average paid claim$33K

Repetitive-loss properties10 severe

Residential policies in force280.3% of 9,602 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2018	10	10	$586,841	$58,684
2005	1	1	$62,911	$62,911
2004	2	1	$35,107	$35,107
1998	3	3	$23,522	$7,841
1997	1	0	$0	—
1995	1	1	$10,502	$10,502
1983	1	0	$0	—
1981	1	1	$21,260	$21,260
1980	4	4	$33,242	$8,311
1979	7	6	$121,199	$20,200

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 Lowscore 53.4 of 100

Expected annual loss$13MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$5,401,059
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$3,718,013
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$1,773,557
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$883,407
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$586,635
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$349,128
Earthquake	Very Low	$238,700
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$218,283
Hail	Very Low	$68,926
Wildfire	Very Low	$24,894
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$20,091
Ice storm	Very Low	$13,377
Drought	Very Low	$12,679
Landslide	Relatively Low	$7,858
Coastal flooding	Very Low	$583

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 miles69

Tracks within 50 miles25

Hurricane strength within 50 miles5

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Sally	2020	54 mi	109 mph
Zeta	2020	79 mi	69 mph
Gordon	2018	84 mi	69 mph
Nate	2017	37 mi	40 mph
Lee	2011	31 mi	46 mph
Ida	2009	96 mi	40 mph
Arlene	2005	98 mi	58 mph
Cindy	2005	88 mi	46 mph
Dennis	2005	15 mi	121 mph
Katrina	2005	98 mi	58 mph
Ivan	2004	21 mi	81 mph
Hanna	2002	95 mi	58 mph
Allison	2001	58 mi	40 mph
Georges	1998	83 mi	75 mph
Danny	1997	79 mi	81 mph
Erin	1995	45 mi	75 mph
Opal	1995	77 mi	92 mph
Juan	1985	49 mi	63 mph
Frederic	1979	63 mi	109 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1969	86 mi	40 mph
Hilda	1964	83 mi	58 mph
Ethel	1960	77 mi	46 mph
Irene	1959	76 mi	46 mph
Baker	1950	41 mi	86 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1948	82 mi	40 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

36545 20
36446 7

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 Clarke County, AL?

NCEI records 121 hail events in Clarke County since 1950, in 37 different years; that is about 1.6 recorded events a year. 20 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Clarke County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 45 tornadoes in Clarke County since 1950, 12 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Clarke County?

26 Sep 2024: Hurricane Helene, a emergency declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 28 declarations since 1953.

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

31 NFIP claims since 1978, 27 of them paid, for $895K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Clarke County compare with the rest of Alabama?

49.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 87.3 statewide, and 1.4 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.