States › Alabama › Marshall County

Marshall 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 01095 · 98,228 residents (2021) · 566 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 202Tornado · 76Flood · 89Wind · 532Winter · 57

Marshall 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 1,137 events for Marshall County, Alabama, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 200.9 events per 100 square miles, above the Alabama figure of 87.3, and 115.8 per 10,000 residents against 87.8 statewide.

24 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 18 deaths and 181 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $49M and crop damage at $1.2M.

FEMA has designated the county in 29 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Hurricane Helene (emergency, 26 Sep 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 41 claims since 1978, of which 33 were paid, totalling $1.0M (about $32K per paid claim). FEMA counts 71 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($50M a year across 18 hazards).

14 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.

24events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,137events since 195018 deaths, 181 injuries recorded

29disaster declarationslast 26 Sep 2024

41NFIP flood claims$1.0M paid

Compared with Alabama and the United States

Measure	Marshall County	Alabama	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,137	44,232	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	200.9	87.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	115.8	87.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	24	1,348	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	18	941	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$49M	$12B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.4	8.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$32K	$34K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	19.7	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

Hail: 2Tornado: 4Wind: 6

Hail: 3Tornado: 10Wind: 7

Hail: 7Tornado: 7Wind: 29

Hail: 28Tornado: 4Flood: 5Wind: 59Winter: 8Heat: 1Cold: 2Lightning: 6Other: 2

Hail: 86Tornado: 13Flood: 26Wind: 104Winter: 6Tropical: 2Heat: 2Cold: 7Drought: 17Lightning: 4Other: 4

Hail: 50Tornado: 26Flood: 36Wind: 214Winter: 35Heat: 8Cold: 31Drought: 12Lightning: 10Fog: 2Other: 3

Hail: 26Tornado: 9Flood: 22Wind: 113Winter: 8Tropical: 1Heat: 16Cold: 29Drought: 11Lightning: 5Other: 6

31950s121960s201970s431980s1151990s2712000s4272010s2462020s

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

Trend: 820 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 243 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

Wind532

Hail202

Flood89

Tornado76

Cold69

Winter57

Drought40

Heat27

Lightning25

Other15

Tropical3

Fog2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	532	5	2.5%	detail
■ Hail	202	—	2.5%	detail
■ Flood	89	2	2.6%	detail
■ Tornado	76	6	2.4%	detail
■ Cold	69	—	6.1%
■ Winter	57	1	3.9%	detail
■ Drought	40	—	1.5%
■ Heat	27	2	2.1%
■ Lightning	25	1	3.5%
■ Other	15	1	3.0%
■ Tropical	3	—	0.6%
■ Fog	2	—	7.4%

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	EF4	—	—	5	48	County
10 Aug 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	35 mph	—	—	2	2	County
30 Nov 2020	Strong Wind	Wind	35 mph	—	—	2	1	Forecast zone
25 Jul 2010	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	4	County
28 Jun 1999	Heavy Rain	Other	—	—	—	1	1	County
19 Apr 2009	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	—	—	1	1	County
24 Jun 2000	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
7 Jan 2010	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
2 Aug 2012	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
6 Oct 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
6 Oct 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
3 Mar 2023	Strong Wind	Wind	46 mph	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
24 Apr 2010	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$14M	—	—	35	County
27 Mar 1994	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$5.0M	—	—	30	County
7 Mar 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	8	County
24 Nov 2001	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$400K	—	—	7	County
18 Nov 1957	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$250K	—	—	6	County
5 Apr 1985	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	5	County
12 Mar 1986	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	5	County
10 Apr 2009	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	—	—	—	5	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
10 Jul 2020	DR-4555	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Thunderstorms	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
3 May 2010	DR-1908	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
8 May 2009	DR-1836	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, 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, 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
7 Dec 2001	DR-1399	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual assistance
23 Feb 1996	DR-1104	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Ice And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
21 Apr 1995	DR-1047	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
30 Mar 1994	DR-1019	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornado, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Mar 1994	DR-1013	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Freezing, Flooding	Public assistance
15 Mar 1993	EM-3096	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall, Winter Storm	Public assistance
4 Jan 1991	DR-890	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Feb 1990	DR-856	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Apr 1979	DR-578	Major disaster	Flood	Storms, Wind, Flooding	Individual assistance
20 Jul 1977	EM-3045	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
9 Apr 1977	DR-532	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 May 1973	DR-388	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, 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 Marshall County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197841

Paid claims33

Total paid$1.0M

Average paid claim$32K

Repetitive-loss properties51 severe

Residential policies in force710.2% of 38,381 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	1	$29,559	$29,559
2022	1	0	$0	—
2021	7	7	$394,140	$56,306
2020	2	1	$7,981	$7,981
2018	1	1	$4,918	$4,918
2017	2	2	$19,970	$9,985
2015	10	6	$134,154	$22,359
2013	2	1	$44,913	$44,913
2011	5	5	$65,856	$13,171
2010	1	1	$80,047	$80,047
2004	3	3	$21,821	$7,274
2002	2	1	$65,881	$65,881
2001	1	1	$92,461	$92,461
1997	1	1	$141	$141
1982	1	1	$60,000	$60,000
1979	1	1	$18,000	$18,000

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 Moderatescore 87.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$50MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$20,012,507
Tornado	Relatively High	$17,261,959
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$3,933,408
Strong wind	Relatively High	$2,940,696
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$2,785,713
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$1,191,270
Lightning	Relatively High	$827,744
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$402,375
Hail	Relatively Low	$259,035
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$202,787
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$167,390
Drought	Relatively Low	$149,055
Wildfire	Very Low	$79,150
Landslide	Relatively Low	$4,274

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 miles14

Tracks within 50 miles2

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Opal	1995	77 mi	58 mph
Juan	1985	60 mi	40 mph
Frederic	1979	73 mi	52 mph
Eloise	1975	97 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	35 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	78 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	78 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	94 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	55 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1907	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1898	85 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1892	29 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

35976 18
35016 13

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 Marshall County, AL?

NCEI records 202 hail events in Marshall County since 1950, in 39 different years; that is about 2.6 recorded events a year. 51 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Marshall County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 76 tornadoes in Marshall County since 1950, 26 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 6.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Marshall County?

26 Sep 2024: Hurricane Helene, a emergency declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 29 declarations since 1953.

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

41 NFIP claims since 1978, 33 of them paid, for $1.0M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Moderate" for overall risk, "Relatively 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 Marshall County compare with the rest of Alabama?

200.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 87.3 statewide, and 0.4 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.