States › Alabama › 1974

Alabama, 1974

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

185events recorded186 in 1973

79deaths recorded959 injuries

$140Mproperty damage (estimates)

1disaster declarations0 NFIP claims, $0 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.

Events by hazard

Wind84

Tornado55

Hail46

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1974 was 185 against 186 in 1973.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 1974
Jefferson County	21
Tuscaloosa County	11
Shelby County	7
Morgan County	6
Baldwin County	6
Etowah County	6
Madison County	6
Limestone County	6
Blount County	5
Dallas County	5
Cullman County	4
Marshall County	4
Walker County	4
Lowndes County	4
Mobile County	4
Pike County	4
Pickens County	4
DeKalb County	3
Geneva County	3
Lamar County	3
Dale County	3
Henry County	3
Houston County	3
Lauderdale County	3
Fayette County	3

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
3 Apr 1974	Marion	Tornado	F5	—	23	250
3 Apr 1974	Lawrence	Tornado	F5	—	14	60
3 Apr 1974	Limestone	Tornado	F5	—	11	80
3 Apr 1974	Madison	Tornado	F5	—	9	110
3 Apr 1974	Madison	Tornado	F5	—	5	110
3 Apr 1974	Limestone	Tornado	F5	—	5	41
3 Apr 1974	Winston	Tornado	F5	—	5	22
3 Apr 1974	Fayette	Tornado	F4	$25,000,000	2	29
3 Apr 1974	Madison	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	2	3
3 Apr 1974	Cullman	Tornado	F4	$25,000,000	1	36
26 Jan 1974	Randolph	Tornado	F3	$250,000	1	7
1 Apr 1974	Madison	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	1	6
3 Apr 1974	Walker	Tornado	F4	$25,000,000	—	102
3 Apr 1974	Morgan	Tornado	F5	—	—	56
1 Apr 1974	Blount	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	11
3 Apr 1974	Cherokee	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	9
3 Apr 1974	Tuscaloosa	Tornado	F4	$25,000,000	—	6
3 Apr 1974	Pickens	Tornado	F4	$25,000,000	—	5
1 Apr 1974	Tuscaloosa	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	6
3 Apr 1974	Jackson	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	4
3 Apr 1974	Franklin	Tornado	F2	—	—	4
15 Oct 1974	Marshall	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	1
19 Dec 1974	Pike	Tornado	F3	$2,500	—	1
3 Apr 1974	Morgan	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	—
3 Apr 1974	Limestone	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	—
22 Apr 1974	Perry	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
19 Dec 1974	Pike	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	—
28 Jan 1974	Fayette	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	—
4 Apr 1974	Dale	Tornado	F0	$25,000	—	—
4 Apr 1974	Houston	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
8 Apr 1974	Henry	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
2 May 1974	Marshall	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
4 Nov 1974	Jefferson	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
2 Apr 1974	Chambers	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
6 Feb 1974	Houston	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
28 Jan 1974	Lamar	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
20 Jan 1974	Pike	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
3 Apr 1974	Jefferson	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	—
8 Jul 1974	Colbert	Tornado	F0	$2,500	—	—
15 Oct 1974	Blount	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	—

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1974

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
4 Apr 1974	DR-422	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes	20

Flood insurance claims with a 1974 date of loss

No NFIP claims in Alabama carry a 1974 date of loss. The NFIP claims file begins with 1978 losses.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.