States › Alabama › Sumter County

Sumter 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 01119 · 12,164 residents (2021) · 904 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 115Tornado · 30Flood · 26Wind · 177Winter · 12

Sumter 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 416 storm events in Sumter County, Alabama, led by damaging wind.

That is 46.0 events per 100 square miles, below the Alabama figure of 87.3, and 342.0 per 10,000 residents against 87.8 statewide.

17 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 12 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $27M and crop damage at $1.4M.

FEMA has designated the county in 20 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Hurricane Helene (emergency, 26 Sep 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 17 claims since 1978, of which 13 were paid, totalling $257K (about $20K per paid claim). FEMA counts 37 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" ($9.9M a year across 18 hazards).

39 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 1 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

17events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

416events since 19502 deaths, 12 injuries recorded

20disaster declarationslast 26 Sep 2024

17NFIP flood claims$257K paid

Compared with Alabama and the United States

Measure	Sumter County	Alabama	US
Recorded events since 1950	416	44,232	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	46.0	87.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	342.0	87.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	17	1,348	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	941	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$27M	$12B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.4	8.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$20K	$34K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	13.5	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: 1

Tornado: 2Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Wind: 2

Hail: 10Tornado: 2Wind: 12

Hail: 29Tornado: 3Flood: 1Wind: 26Winter: 3Heat: 1Cold: 2

Hail: 42Tornado: 1Flood: 19Wind: 45Winter: 2Tropical: 4Heat: 1Cold: 3Drought: 15Lightning: 2Other: 2

Hail: 19Tornado: 13Flood: 2Wind: 49Winter: 6Heat: 5Cold: 1Drought: 6

Hail: 13Tornado: 7Flood: 4Wind: 41Winter: 1Tropical: 1Heat: 4Drought: 9

11950s41960s51970s241980s651990s1362000s1012010s802020s

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

Trend: 225 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 156 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

Wind177

Hail115

Tornado30

Drought30

Flood26

Winter12

Heat11

Cold6

Tropical5

Lightning2

Other2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	177	—	0.8%	detail
■ Hail	115	—	1.4%	detail
■ Tornado	30	—	0.9%	detail
■ Drought	30	—	1.1%
■ Flood	26	1	0.8%	detail
■ Winter	12	—	0.8%	detail
■ Heat	11	—	0.8%
■ Cold	6	—	0.5%
■ Tropical	5	—	1.0%
■ Lightning	2	—	0.3%
■ Other	2	1	0.4%

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
7 Apr 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	1	—	County
5 Mar 2004	Heavy Rain	Other	—	—	—	1	—	County
27 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$1.0M	—	—	2	County
12 Mar 1976	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	2	County
25 Nov 1986	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	2	County
8 Aug 2007	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	2	Forecast zone
16 Nov 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$200K	—	—	1	County
20 Feb 2015	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	—	1	Forecast zone
3 Apr 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	—	1	County
12 Jan 2023	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	—	—	—	1	County
15 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$6.9M	—	—	—	County
29 Aug 2005	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$4.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
15 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$3.9M	—	—	—	County
16 Sep 2004	High Wind	Wind	84 mph	$3.6M	$80K	—	—	Forecast zone
22 Nov 1992	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
15 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$2.1M	—	—	—	County
7 Mar 1996	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
5 Apr 1994	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$500K	—	—	—	County
7 Apr 2003	Flood	Flood	—	$85K	$250K	—	—	Forecast zone
27 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$268K	—	—	—	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
15 Jan 2023	DR-4684	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	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
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
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
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, 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
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 Sumter County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197817

Paid claims13

Total paid$257K

Average paid claim$20K

Repetitive-loss properties10 severe

Residential policies in force370.6% of 6,368 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2023	2	2	$106,293	$53,147
2019	3	2	$17,224	$8,612
2009	1	0	$0	—
2003	3	3	$53,904	$17,968
1998	1	1	$1,051	$1,051
1991	2	2	$27,789	$13,894
1990	2	1	$30,024	$30,024
1983	1	0	$0	—
1979	2	2	$20,874	$10,437

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 53.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$9.9MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$4,357,369
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$2,443,207
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$666,693
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$610,303
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$487,735
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$473,351
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$365,357
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$192,732
Drought	Relatively Low	$131,801
Hail	Relatively Low	$117,212
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$44,243
Wildfire	Very Low	$10,589
Winter weather	Very Low	$3,266
Landslide	Very Low	$1,112

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 miles39

Tracks within 50 miles14

Hurricane strength within 50 miles1

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Zeta	2020	43 mi	69 mph
Nate	2017	30 mi	40 mph
Lee	2011	76 mi	46 mph
Dennis	2005	81 mi	52 mph
Katrina	2005	52 mi	58 mph
Ivan	2004	47 mi	81 mph
Isidore	2002	97 mi	46 mph
Erin	1995	56 mi	52 mph
Juan	1985	89 mi	46 mph
Frederic	1979	40 mi	75 mph
Baker	1950	55 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1948	56 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1939	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1939	73 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1936	62 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	67 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	47 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	56 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	71 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	90 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	67 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1912	41 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1912	33 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1907	49 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	66 mi	75 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 Sumter County, AL?

NCEI records 115 hail events in Sumter County since 1950, in 38 different years; that is about 1.5 recorded events a year. 18 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Sumter County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 30 tornadoes in Sumter County since 1950, 12 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Sumter County?

26 Sep 2024: Hurricane Helene, a emergency declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 20 declarations since 1953.

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

17 NFIP claims since 1978, 13 of them paid, for $257K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

How does Sumter County compare with the rest of Alabama?

46.0 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.