States › Alabama › Fayette County

Fayette 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 01057 · 16,148 residents (2021) · 628 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 63Tornado · 56Flood · 15Wind · 189Winter · 20

Fayette 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 403 events for Fayette County, Alabama, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 64.2 events per 100 square miles, below the Alabama figure of 87.3, and 249.6 per 10,000 residents against 87.8 statewide.

7 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 7 deaths and 52 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $42M and crop damage at $1.0M.

FEMA has designated the county in 21 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" ($8.6M a year across 18 hazards).

23 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.

7events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

403events since 19507 deaths, 52 injuries recorded

21disaster declarationslast 26 Sep 2024

0NFIP flood claims$0 paid

Compared with Alabama and the United States

Measure	Fayette County	Alabama	US
Recorded events since 1950	403	44,232	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	64.2	87.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	249.6	87.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	7	1,348	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	7	941	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$42M	$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

Hail: 2Tornado: 6Wind: 4

Tornado: 2Wind: 3

Hail: 2Tornado: 3Wind: 7

Hail: 2Tornado: 6Wind: 13

Hail: 11Tornado: 1Flood: 1Wind: 36Winter: 5Heat: 1Cold: 2Other: 1

Hail: 22Tornado: 16Flood: 6Wind: 55Winter: 2Tropical: 3Heat: 1Cold: 3Drought: 21Lightning: 1Other: 2

Hail: 16Tornado: 16Flood: 4Wind: 43Winter: 10Heat: 4Cold: 1Drought: 9Other: 1

Hail: 8Tornado: 6Flood: 4Wind: 28Winter: 3Heat: 3Drought: 7

121950s51960s121970s211980s581990s1322000s1042010s592020s

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

Trend: 242 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 117 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

Wind189

Hail63

Tornado56

Drought37

Winter20

Flood15

Heat9

Cold6

Other4

Tropical3

Lightning1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	189	1	0.9%	detail
■ Hail	63	—	0.8%	detail
■ Tornado	56	6	1.7%	detail
■ Drought	37	—	1.4%
■ Winter	20	—	1.4%	detail
■ Flood	15	—	0.4%	detail
■ Heat	9	—	0.7%
■ Cold	6	—	0.5%
■ Other	4	—	0.8%
■ Tropical	3	—	0.6%
■ Lightning	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
27 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$6.6M	—	4	—	County
3 Apr 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$25M	—	2	29	County
20 May 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	63 mph	$35K	—	1	3	County
8 Aug 2007	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	10	Forecast zone
27 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$1.4M	—	—	4	County
10 Nov 2002	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$500K	—	—	3	County
20 Feb 1951	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	2	County
3 Apr 2000	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$85K	—	—	1	County
27 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$3.0M	—	—	—	County
7 Mar 1996	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
24 Nov 2001	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$800K	—	—	—	County
23 Dec 1998	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Aug 2005	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
7 Mar 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	—	County
28 Jan 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	—	County
16 Feb 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	86 mph	$250K	—	—	—	County
28 Apr 2014	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$250K	—	—	—	County
10 Nov 2002	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$200K	—	—	—	County
6 Feb 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
21 May 2020	DR-4546	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	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	Individual assistance, 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
15 Sep 2004	DR-1549	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ivan	Individual assistance
14 Nov 2002	DR-1442	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 Dec 2001	DR-1399	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
5 Mar 2001	DR-1362	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
18 Sep 1999	FM-2279	Fire management assistance	Fire	Al - Fayette Fire - 09/18/99	Public assistance
15 Jan 1999	DR-1261	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Riv-Severe Winter Wx 12/23/98	Public assistance
15 Mar 1993	EM-3096	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall, Winter Storm	Public assistance
18 Apr 1979	DR-578	Major disaster	Flood	Storms, Wind, Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
20 Jul 1977	EM-3045	Emergency	Drought	Drought	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 15 residential flood policies in force.

National Risk Index

Overall riskVery Lowscore 38.2 of 100

Expected annual loss$8.6MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$3,635,198
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$1,544,002
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$858,330
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$744,887
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$589,506
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$412,626
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$327,038
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$226,714
Drought	Relatively Low	$102,205
Hail	Very Low	$84,252
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$45,367
Landslide	Relatively Low	$10,143
Wildfire	Very Low	$8,877
Winter weather	Very Low	$4,187

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 miles23

Tracks within 50 miles7

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Zeta	2020	65 mi	69 mph
Katrina	2005	55 mi	46 mph
Ivan	2004	87 mi	58 mph
Opal	1995	97 mi	58 mph
Juan	1985	63 mi	40 mph
Frederic	1979	24 mi	52 mph
Audrey	1957	98 mi	40 mph
Baker	1950	33 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	98 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	66 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	96 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	18 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	16 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	37 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1912	85 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1912	65 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1901	73 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	66 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1892	70 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1881	37 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	45 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1860	51 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1855	58 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 Fayette County, AL?

NCEI records 63 hail events in Fayette County since 1950, in 34 different years; that is about 0.8 recorded events a year. 12 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Fayette County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 56 tornadoes in Fayette County since 1950, 12 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 6.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Fayette County?

26 Sep 2024: Hurricane Helene, a emergency declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 21 declarations since 1953.

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

OpenFEMA lists no NFIP claims in the county.

Is Fayette 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, "Relatively High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Fayette County compare with the rest of Alabama?

64.2 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.