Elmore County, Alabama

What hazards hit Elmore County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 324 since 1960. 41% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Alabama's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Elmore County had?

NOAA records 56 tornadoes in Elmore County from 1956 to 2023, the strongest rated EF3, with 6 deaths and 41 injuries recorded in the county. That is 9th of 67 Alabama counties and 214th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 54 tornadoes whose track touched Elmore County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 56: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 21 people, 6 of them in Elmore County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Alabama.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Elmore County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 19, 2019 tornado (4 injuries).

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Elmore County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 135 mph. The tornado began near the Coosa River just southwest of downtown Wetumpka. It quickly intensified as it moved northeast into downtown Wetumpka. The extent of damage done to multiple structures in Wetumpka indicated a tornado with high-end EF2 wind speeds. The damage included: collapse/failure of exterior walls, significant damage to interior walls, roof failures, shifting of structures, and collapse of structures due to direct and indirect causes. Several vehicles were also tossed or rolled, with debris puncturing framing. Trees were also snapped and uprooted. The First Presbyterian Church was heavily damaged, but rescue/clean-up efforts precluded an accurate assessment of damage. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 803261)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Elmore County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

41% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Elmore County

FEMA's register lists 24 declarations that include Elmore County: 14 major disasters, 10 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (10) and severe storm (8).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Elmore County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 49 flood or flash flood records for Elmore County from 1996 to 2026, on 44 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Elmore County ranks 1514th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.1 million on 66 claims filed in Elmore County; the most in one year was 15 in 2009. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Elmore County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Elmore County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $28.7 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Elmore County

1. Montgomery County 738
2. Elmore County 673
3. Tallapoosa County 546
4. Autauga County 466
5. Chilton County 428
6. Macon County 296
7. Coosa County 269

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in AlabamaEvery Alabama tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in AlabamaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Alabama recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Elmore CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Elmore County's FEMA declarations (CSV)24 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis