Alabama extreme cold
Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 57 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,134 extreme cold records in Alabama from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 39 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 5, 1996 cold/wind chill in Tuscaloosa County: 1 death. Alabama ranks 17th of 51 states and territories by count and 23rd of 50 per square mile.
Extreme cold in Alabama, 1996 to 2026
Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 1,1341996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 39average
- Deaths
- 90 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $9.5Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2018113 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are extreme cold records common in Alabama?
Alabama averages about 39 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 17th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2018 (113). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Alabama records 224 extreme cold records since 1996, 23rd of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Alabama have the most extreme cold records?
Per square mile, Madison County leads Alabama: 103 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 128.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Madison County has the most cold records (115 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the cold season in Alabama?
Alabama's extreme cold records by month. The busiest month is January (266 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 266 · Feb 93 · Mar 241 · Apr 196 · May 10 · Jun 0 · Jul 8 · Aug 22 · Sep 16 · Oct 102 · Nov 139 · Dec 41 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Alabama?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-02-05 | Cold/Wind ChillTuscaloosa County · forecast zone Tuscaloosa A man believed to be in his 70s was found dead in his residence around noon on Monday. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1996-02-05 | Cold/Wind ChillMobile County · forecast zone Upper Mobile A 71 YEAR OLD MALE DIED FROM COLD WEATHER IN THE PRICHARD AREA. THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 11 DEGREES DURING THE NIGHT. EVIDENTLY, THE MAN FELL AND INJURED HIMSELF. WHEN HE FELL HE KNOCKED OVER A COUCH AND A SPACE HEATER HE USED TO KEEP WARM. WHEN THE HEATER TIPPED OVER, IT AUTOMATICALLY SHUT OFF. THE HOME WAS NOT ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Cold/Wind ChillMadison County · forecast zone Madison A 71 year old female died of hypothermia. Their body was found outdoors just off of Adventist Boulevard. The cause of death was determined by the County Coroner. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-20 | Cold/Wind ChillWalker County · forecast zone Walker Temperatures in the 20s with wind chill value around 20 overnight resulted in a fatality in Jasper partially attributed to hypothermia. Individual was found on the porch of a business along 9th Ave. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-01 | Cold/Wind ChillWalker County · forecast zone Walker Temperatures in the 20s overnight resulted in a fatality attributed to hypothermia. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1996-03-08 | Cold/Wind ChillMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery The body of a 59-year-old man was found under an Interstate overpass Friday morning. The man was lightly dressed so the cold weather was suspected at the cause of death. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2003-01-24 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillTalladega County · forecast zone Talladega The coldest temperatures in 7 years occurred across much of North and Central Alabama and lasted for about two days. Early morning temperatures ranged from 2 to 10 degrees. The coldest temperatures were measured in outlying areas. Although no new records were established, these temperatures were very cold for the Deep ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2000-12-31 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson A Birmingham man died Sunday morning from hypothermia after being found outside of the Norwood boarding house where he lived. The coroner reported that the man's body temperature was 77 degrees when he was found. The morning low reported at the Birmingham airport was 16 degrees. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1999-01-05 | Cold/Wind ChillClarke County · forecast zone Clarke An elderly male was found dead on the floor in a tar paper shack. The temperatures in the Jackson area only reached the mid 30s the day before (January 4) and fell to 13 degrees that night. Many cities across the area had record low temperatures for January 5. It was determined the man died from hypothermia. The ... | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest extreme cold records in Alabama
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-03-07 | Cold/Wind ChillChilton County · forecast zone Chilton One storm episode: 49 records in 49 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $9.4M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Alabama?
Alabama's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Alabama | United States | Alabama's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 145 | 5,539 | 2.6% |
| 2000s | 246 | 14,792 | 1.7% |
| 2010s | 375 | 18,162 | 2.1% |
| 2020-26 | 368 | 15,329 | 2.4% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent extreme cold records in Alabama
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-22 | Cold/Wind ChillMadison County · forecast zone Madison | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillDeKalb County · forecast zone Dekalb | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillJackson County · forecast zone Jackson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillMadison County · forecast zone Madison | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillCullman County · forecast zone Cullman | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillLimestone County · forecast zone Limestone | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillLawrence County · forecast zone Lawrence | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillLauderdale County · forecast zone Lauderdale | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillColbert County · forecast zone Colbert | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for extreme cold records in Alabama
FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Alabama for extreme cold, counting its incident type and declarations that name freez in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on March 3, 1994.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-03-03 | DR-1013 | Severe Winter Storms, Freezing, Flooding | 10 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Madison County: the county's whole recordThe Alabama county with the most extreme cold records per square mile
- Extreme cold across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in AlabamaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Alabama20,476 records
- Hail in Alabama8,096 records
- Floods in Alabama3,380 records