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Alabama

The recorded hazard history of every county in Alabama: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Alabama has 44,232 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 67 counties, led by damaging wind: 87.3 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 941 deaths and 9,908 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $12B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Lauderdale, Madison and Colbert.

FEMA lists 102 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Hurricane Helene (26 Sep 2024). NFIP policyholders filed 44,896 flood claims since 1978, $1.2B paid; 25,579 residential policies are in force.

1,348events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

44,232events since 195087.3 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

102disaster declarations since 1953last 26 Sep 2024

44,896NFIP flood claims$1.2B paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Alabama	US
Recorded events since 1950	44,232	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	87.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	87.8	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	941	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$12B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	8.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$34K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	25,579	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind21,197

Hail8,096

Flood3,380

Tornado3,206

Drought2,670

Winter1,470

Heat1,305

Cold1,134

Lightning716

Tropical516

Other505

Fog27

Wildfire10

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	21,197	3.0%	79
■ Hail	8,096	1.9%	—
■ Flood	3,380	1.8%	38
■ Tornado	3,206	3.9%	692
■ Drought	2,670	3.1%	—
■ Winter	1,470	0.5%	24
■ Heat	1,305	2.3%	42
■ Cold	1,134	2.1%	9
■ Lightning	716	4.0%	40
■ Tropical	516	4.6%	6
■ Other	505	1.1%	11
■ Fog	27	0.1%	—
■ Wildfire	10	0.1%	—

Events by decade

Hail: 33Tornado: 150Wind: 57

Hail: 94Tornado: 171Wind: 293

Hail: 249Tornado: 296Wind: 664

Hail: 541Tornado: 286Wind: 1563

Hail: 1646Tornado: 266Flood: 228Wind: 2471Winter: 212Tropical: 27Heat: 153Cold: 145Drought: 8Lightning: 136Other: 71

Hail: 2998Tornado: 683Flood: 1143Wind: 4409Winter: 244Tropical: 292Heat: 210Cold: 246Drought: 948Wildfire: 1Lightning: 323Fog: 7Other: 220

Hail: 1655Tornado: 754Flood: 1200Wind: 5787Winter: 776Tropical: 92Heat: 394Cold: 375Drought: 1150Wildfire: 9Lightning: 204Fog: 19Other: 164

Hail: 880Tornado: 600Flood: 809Wind: 5953Winter: 238Tropical: 105Heat: 548Cold: 368Drought: 564Lightning: 53Fog: 1Other: 50

2401950s5581960s1,2091970s2,3901980s5,3631990s11,7242000s12,5792010s10,1692020s

Recorded events in Alabama by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Lauderdale County	2,198	94	329.0	233.7	Wind	48	212	20	141	Relatively Moderate
Madison County	2,450	52	305.6	62.0	Wind	96	471	21	785	Relatively High
Colbert County	1,706	27	287.7	296.8	Wind	50	145	24	144	Relatively Low
Morgan County	1,375	53	237.2	111.2	Wind	50	198	24	200	Relatively Moderate
Limestone County	1,174	31	209.7	109.2	Wind	77	199	22	59	Relatively Low
Marshall County	1,137	24	200.9	115.8	Wind	76	202	29	41	Relatively Moderate
Cullman County	1,339	56	182.2	149.6	Wind	99	265	32	30	Relatively Moderate
Jefferson County	1,814	53	163.2	27.2	Wind	111	490	39	2,884	Relatively High
DeKalb County	1,221	26	157.1	170.0	Wind	74	197	34	40	Relatively Low
Houston County	863	70	148.8	80.3	Wind	63	93	28	195	Relatively Moderate
Lawrence County	930	20	134.6	281.1	Wind	45	181	22	46	Relatively Low
Dale County	719	85	128.1	145.7	Wind	44	66	33	144	Relatively Low
Etowah County	658	16	123.0	63.8	Wind	34	134	29	129	Relatively Moderate
Franklin County	732	22	115.5	228.7	Wind	30	144	22	4	Relatively Low
Jackson County	1,211	79	112.3	229.5	Wind	64	133	28	69	Relatively Low
Shelby County	865	24	110.1	38.1	Wind	52	196	26	797	Relatively Moderate
Elmore County	673	21	108.8	75.4	Wind	56	111	24	66	Relatively Low
Blount County	676	19	104.8	114.5	Wind	60	124	25	27	Relatively Low
Coffee County	673	28	99.1	124.2	Wind	42	55	30	591	Relatively Moderate
Lamar County	598	9	98.9	436.8	Wind	42	130	26	14	Very Low
Calhoun County	594	12	98.0	51.2	Wind	32	154	23	129	Relatively Moderate
Montgomery County	738	31	94.0	32.4	Wind	58	127	24	417	Relatively Moderate
Walker County	733	20	92.7	113.1	Wind	59	181	25	65	Relatively Moderate
Geneva County	526	42	91.6	197.0	Wind	32	31	33	154	Relatively Low
Lee County	553	21	91.0	31.2	Wind	44	128	22	62	Relatively Low
Mobile County	1,110	8	90.3	26.9	Wind	129	242	40	15,117	Relatively High
Cherokee County	494	17	89.2	197.6	Wind	18	109	25	27	Relatively Low
St. Clair County	559	11	88.5	60.3	Wind	44	113	30	96	Relatively Low
Winston County	527	11	86.0	222.8	Wind	42	119	25	11	Relatively Low
Talladega County	631	14	85.6	77.4	Wind	35	144	25	107	Relatively Moderate
Marion County	619	16	83.4	211.7	Wind	47	152	26	11	Relatively Low
Autauga County	466	10	78.4	78.9	Wind	44	89	24	77	Relatively Low
Tallapoosa County	546	18	76.2	133.1	Wind	43	115	20	6	Relatively Low
Tuscaloosa County	994	14	75.3	43.8	Wind	96	264	28	298	Relatively Moderate
Henry County	413	26	73.5	236.6	Wind	41	33	28	19	Very Low
Randolph County	424	8	73.0	192.8	Wind	22	99	25	1	Very Low
Fayette County	403	7	64.2	249.6	Wind	56	63	21	0	Very Low
Chambers County	376	13	63.0	108.9	Wind	27	86	23	24	Relatively Low
Chilton County	428	10	61.8	94.5	Wind	44	93	24	10	Relatively Low
Bibb County	362	12	58.2	161.1	Wind	39	72	20	12	Very Low
Russell County	372	14	58.0	63.3	Wind	32	88	24	60	Relatively Low
Clay County	349	5	57.8	245.9	Wind	25	57	24	1	Very Low
Baldwin County	860	11	54.1	35.9	Wind	116	178	38	19,745	Relatively High
Hale County	333	14	51.7	225.7	Wind	58	61	23	115	Very Low
Pike County	338	18	50.3	102.5	Wind	53	47	23	0	Relatively Low
Cleburne County	281	11	50.2	186.1	Wind	21	50	22	0	Very Low
Clarke County	612	2	49.4	268.9	Wind	45	121	28	31	Relatively Low
Macon County	296	11	48.6	156.7	Wind	31	56	26	5	Very Low
Dallas County	453	10	46.3	120.4	Wind	47	101	27	196	Relatively Low
Sumter County	416	17	46.0	342.0	Wind	30	115	20	17	Relatively Low
Pickens County	403	9	45.7	214.4	Wind	55	93	19	116	Relatively Low
Covington County	451	1	43.8	120.2	Wind	49	111	33	37	Relatively Moderate
Crenshaw County	266	1	43.7	203.3	Wind	31	38	29	2	Very Low
Coosa County	269	8	41.3	257.4	Wind	28	62	23	10	Very Low
Lowndes County	289	14	40.4	290.0	Wind	26	54	20	11	Very Low
Barbour County	350	15	39.5	140.2	Wind	44	72	28	34	Relatively Low
Choctaw County	356	3	39.0	284.1	Wind	34	70	28	53	Relatively Low
Escambia County	365	1	38.6	99.5	Wind	30	69	27	384	Relatively Moderate
Bullock County	238	11	38.2	230.6	Wind	26	28	24	3	Very Low
Greene County	246	12	38.0	322.5	Wind	30	46	22	111	Very Low
Marengo County	337	18	34.5	177.4	Wind	50	76	20	40	Relatively Low
Perry County	240	10	33.3	287.3	Wind	41	47	24	2	Very Low
Washington County	343	0	31.8	226.4	Wind	33	90	27	15	Relatively Low
Monroe County	322	1	31.4	163.9	Wind	28	82	26	24	Relatively Low
Butler County	236	0	30.4	125.0	Wind	29	41	28	3	Relatively Low
Conecuh County	227	1	26.7	200.4	Wind	34	40	27	3	Very Low
Wilcox County	169	0	19.0	161.8	Wind	15	36	22	21	Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Shelby County	193	491	39.3	797	$19M
Baldwin County	3,369	9,007	37.4	19,745	$659M
Jefferson County	362	1,129	32.1	2,884	$47M
Mobile County	748	5,422	13.8	15,117	$369M
Tuscaloosa County	73	539	13.5	298	$3.4M
Lauderdale County	17	128	13.3	141	$1.4M
Montgomery County	73	725	10.1	417	$6.7M
Talladega County	28	310	9.0	107	$2.1M
Cherokee County	15	170	8.8	27	$387K
Houston County	27	312	8.7	195	$4.1M
Etowah County	17	212	8.0	129	$815K
Calhoun County	22	292	7.5	129	$706K
Jackson County	8	117	6.8	69	$664K
Lee County	17	250	6.8	62	$511K
Morgan County	29	426	6.8	200	$3.0M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Alabama by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Severe Storm	45
Hurricane	25
Flood	10
Fire	9
Tornado	7
Biological	4
Snowstorm	1
Drought	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
26 Sep 2024	EM-3618	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Helene	67
5 May 2023	DR-4710	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	10
15 Jan 2023	DR-4684	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	13
21 Dec 2021	DR-4632	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	2
26 Apr 2021	DR-4596	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	8
28 Mar 2021	DR-4591	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	0
10 Dec 2020	DR-4573	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Zeta	21
20 Sep 2020	DR-4563	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sally	14
14 Sep 2020	EM-3545	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sally	67
10 Jul 2020	DR-4555	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Thunderstorms	7
10 Jul 2020	DR-4554	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	10
21 May 2020	DR-4546	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	19
29 Mar 2020	DR-4503	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	67
13 Mar 2020	EM-3528	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	0
13 Mar 2020	EM-3472	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	67

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Alabama by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

44,896 claims, 35,392 paid, $1.2B in total; 4,727 repetitive-loss and 718 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Alabama with flood claims (293).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which Alabama counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Mobile (129), Baldwin (116) and Jefferson (111), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Alabama counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Baldwin (19,745), Mobile (15,117) and Jefferson (2,884) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Alabama had?

102 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 0 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Alabama compare with the national rate?

87.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 8.9 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.