Pickens County, Alabama

What hazards hit Pickens County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 151 since 1956. 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 Pickens County had?

NOAA records 55 tornadoes in Pickens County from 1952 to 2025, the strongest rated F5, with 5 deaths and 75 injuries recorded in the county. 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 55 tornadoes whose track touched Pickens County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 55, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 83 people, 5 of them in Pickens 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 Pickens County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 11, 2020 tornado (3 deaths and 7 injuries).

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern Pickens County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 134 mph. A tornado touched down south of Highway 86, just on the south side of Coleman Road. The tornado tracked northeast and crossed Highway 86. Along Highway 86, there were at least three homes damaged with one home losing most of its roofing. Numerous hardwood and softwood trees were snapped off or uprooted at this location. The tornado continued northeast across Turnipseed Road, causing significant tree damage. The tornado tracked along Settlement Road where it likely reached its peak intensity. Numerous homes were damaged or destroyed on the west side of Settlement Road, while homes on the east side sustained minor damage. Of the homes destroyed, six were site-built homes. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 871629)

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 Pickens 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?

Records by month in Pickens County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Pickens County

FEMA's register lists 19 declarations that include Pickens County: 10 major disasters, 9 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (9) and severe storm (4).

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 Pickens County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 20 flood or flash flood records for Pickens County from 1997 to 2015, on 14 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Pickens County ranks 1227th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.2 million on 116 claims filed in Pickens County; the most in one year was 27 in 1991. 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 Pickens County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pickens County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.9 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 Pickens County

1. Tuscaloosa County 994
2. Lowndes County, MS 711
3. Lamar County 598
4. Sumter County 416
5. Pickens County 403
6. Fayette County 403
7. Noxubee County, MS 391
8. Greene County 246

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 Pickens CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Pickens County's FEMA declarations (CSV)19 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis