States › Alabama › Cleburne County

Cleburne 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 01029 · 15,103 residents (2021) · 560 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 50Tornado · 21Flood · 11Wind · 100Winter · 23

Cleburne 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.

The NCEI record lists 281 events for Cleburne County, Alabama, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 50.2 events per 100 square miles, below the Alabama figure of 87.3, and 186.1 per 10,000 residents against 87.8 statewide.

11 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 1 death and 13 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $5.4M and crop damage at $1.0M.

FEMA has designated the county in 22 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Hurricane Helene (emergency, 26 Sep 2024).

OpenFEMA lists no National Flood Insurance Program claims in the county.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($6.0M a year across 18 hazards).

20 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

11events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

281events since 19501 death, 13 injuries recorded

22disaster declarationslast 26 Sep 2024

0NFIP flood claims$0 paid

Compared with Alabama and the United States

Measure	Cleburne County	Alabama	US
Recorded events since 1950	281	44,232	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	50.2	87.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	186.1	87.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	11	1,348	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	1	941	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$5.4M	$12B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.0	8.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	—	$34K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	0.0	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: 1

Tornado: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 3Wind: 4

Hail: 1Tornado: 4Wind: 9

Hail: 10Tornado: 2Flood: 2Wind: 7Winter: 5Heat: 1Cold: 2

Hail: 24Tornado: 5Flood: 5Wind: 36Winter: 6Tropical: 4Heat: 1Cold: 3Drought: 23Lightning: 2Other: 1

Hail: 10Tornado: 2Flood: 2Wind: 22Winter: 11Tropical: 1Heat: 3Cold: 1Drought: 24Other: 2

Hail: 4Tornado: 2Flood: 2Wind: 22Winter: 1Tropical: 2Heat: 1Drought: 5

11950s21960s81970s141980s291990s1102000s782010s392020s

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

Trend: 162 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 92 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

Wind100

Drought52

Hail50

Winter23

Tornado21

Flood11

Tropical7

Heat6

Cold6

Other3

Lightning2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	100	—	0.5%	detail
■ Drought	52	—	1.9%
■ Hail	50	—	0.6%	detail
■ Winter	23	—	1.6%	detail
■ Tornado	21	—	0.7%	detail
■ Flood	11	1	0.3%	detail
■ Tropical	7	—	1.4%
■ Heat	6	—	0.5%
■ Cold	6	—	0.5%
■ Other	3	—	0.6%
■ Lightning	2	—	0.3%

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
3 Aug 2025	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	1	County
28 Apr 1964	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25K	—	—	8	County
10 Jan 1975	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
8 May 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$8K	—	—	1	County
10 Feb 1990	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
22 Nov 1992	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
11 May 2008	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$1.8M	—	—	—	County
7 Mar 1996	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
27 Mar 1994	Hail	Hail	1.75 in	$500K	—	—	—	County
16 Sep 2004	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
3 May 1984	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
3 May 1984	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
22 Nov 1992	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
7 May 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
26 Feb 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$200K	—	—	—	County
20 Jul 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$100K	—	—	—	County
25 Aug 2008	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$100K	—	—	—	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
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
11 Sep 2017	EM-3389	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irma	Public assistance
21 Jan 2016	DR-4251	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	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
30 Aug 2008	EM-3292	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3237	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
10 Jul 2005	DR-1593	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Dennis	Public assistance
15 Sep 2004	DR-1549	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ivan	Public assistance
12 May 2003	DR-1466	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Nov 2002	DR-1442	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual 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
17 Feb 1990	DR-856	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance
11 May 1984	EM-3088	Emergency	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
17 Mar 1979	EM-3074	Emergency	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
20 Jul 1977	EM-3045	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
14 Mar 1975	DR-458	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 1974	DR-422	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes	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

OpenFEMA lists no NFIP claims with this county's code. FEMA counts 3 residential flood policies in force.

National Risk Index

Overall riskVery Lowscore 27.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$6.0MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$2,897,835
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$1,683,520
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$462,160
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$244,781
Earthquake	Very Low	$158,990
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$148,290
Heat wave	Very Low	$120,967
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$93,498
Drought	Relatively Low	$86,453
Hail	Very Low	$71,694
Lightning	Relatively Low	$55,958
Ice storm	Very Low	$8,823
Winter weather	Very Low	$3,355
Landslide	Relatively Low	$3,026

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 miles20

Tracks within 50 miles8

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Opal	1995	51 mi	58 mph
Juan	1985	69 mi	40 mph
Eloise	1975	48 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	46 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	70 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	32 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1912	60 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1907	48 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	48 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	44 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	41 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1898	62 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1898	22 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	67 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1892	91 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1887	67 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1882	94 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1881	93 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1859	57 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1852	73 mi	46 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.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Cleburne County, AL?

NCEI records 50 hail events in Cleburne County since 1950, in 18 different years; that is about 0.6 recorded events a year. 11 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Cleburne County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 21 tornadoes in Cleburne County since 1950, 6 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Cleburne County?

26 Sep 2024: Hurricane Helene, a emergency declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 22 declarations since 1953.

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

OpenFEMA lists no NFIP claims in the county.

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

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

How does Cleburne County compare with the rest of Alabama?

50.2 recorded events per 100 square miles against 87.3 statewide, and 0.0 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.