Alabama hurricanes and tropical storms
Every recorded hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996 · 67 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 516 hurricane and tropical storm records in Alabama from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 38 a year since 2000. The deadliest was Hurricane Sally (September 15, 2020) in Baldwin County: 3 deaths and $356 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 4 records. Alabama ranks 8th of 34 states and territories by count and 13th of 33 per square mile.
Hurricanes and tropical storms in Alabama, 1996 to 2026
Tropical 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
- 5161996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 38average
- Deaths
- 613 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $6.5Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2005141 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 hurricane and tropical storm records common in Alabama?
Alabama averages about 38 hurricane and tropical storm records a year since 2000, 8th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2005 (141). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Alabama records 102 hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996, 13th of 33 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 hurricane and tropical storm records?
Per square mile, Mobile County leads Alabama: 30 days with a hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996, 24.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Mobile County has the most tropical records (71 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 hurricane season in Alabama?
51% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is August (139 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 0 · May 17 · Jun 30 · Jul 79 · Aug 139 · Sep 122 · Oct 94 · Nov 35 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest hurricane and tropical storm records in Alabama?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-09-15 | Hurricane Sally · Hurricane (Typhoon)Baldwin County · forecast zone Baldwin Coastal One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Hurricane Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores, AL at 5am on Wednesday, September 16th as a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Sally produced widespread wind, storm surge, and freshwater flooding across coastal AL and the western Florida Panhandle. Flood and wind damage also extended ... | 3 | 0 | $356M | |
| 1998-09-25 | Hurricane Georges · Hurricane (Typhoon)Mobile County · forecast zone Lower Mobile One storm episode: 9 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. For the second time in less than a month, the area was again threatened by a hurricane. Hurricane Georges affected the region September 25 through the 29. The coastal areas from Dauphin Island to east of Destin were put under a hurricane watch at 900 AM CST, September 25. A hurricane warning was issued for the area at ... | 1 | 0 | $324M | |
| 2008-08-23 | Tropical DepressionElmore County · forecast zone Elmore Tropical Storm Fay weakened to a Tropical Depression after it made its final landfall on the Florida Panhandle and entered Southern Alabama. In Central Alabama, the highest sustained wind of 35 mph, and highest gust of 49 mph, were both recorded at Montgomery. Storm total rainfall ranged from 2.48 inches near Guin ... | 1 | 0 | $7K | |
| 1997-07-18 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Baldwin County · forecast zone Lower Baldwin Hurricane Danny moved inland from the Gulf of Mexico at a snails pace. The center of the storm moved across Fort Morgan and into Mobile Bay during the early morning hours on Saturday. The storm remained nearly stationary over Mobile Bay for eight hours. Danny then creeped east, making landfall at Mullet Point, near ... | 1 | 0 | $116M |
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 hurricane and tropical storm records in Alabama
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-09-13 | Hurricane Ivan · Hurricane (Typhoon)Mobile County · forecast zone Lower Mobile One named storm filed by several offices: 6 records in 2 episodes, 2004-09-13 to 2004-09-15; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 0 | $4.0B | |
| 2005-08-27 | Hurricane Katrina · Hurricane (Typhoon)Mobile County · forecast zone Lower Mobile One named storm filed by several offices: 18 records in 2 episodes, 2005-08-27 to 2005-08-29; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 8 | $1.6B | |
| 2020-09-15 | Hurricane Sally · Hurricane (Typhoon)Baldwin County · forecast zone Baldwin Coastal One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 3 | 0 | $356M | |
| 1998-09-25 | Hurricane Georges · Hurricane (Typhoon)Mobile County · forecast zone Lower Mobile One storm episode: 9 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $324M | |
| 2005-07-09 | Hurricane Dennis · Hurricane (Typhoon)Mobile County · forecast zone Lower Mobile One named storm filed by several offices: 18 records in 16 episodes, 2005-07-09 to 2005-07-10; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 3 | $190M | |
| 1997-07-18 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Baldwin County · forecast zone Lower Baldwin | 1 | 0 | $116M | |
| 2017-10-07 | Hurricane Nate · Storm Surge/TideMobile County · forecast zone Mobile Coastal One storm episode: 7 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $25M | |
| 2002-09-24 | Tropical Storm Isidore · Tropical StormMobile County · forecast zone Lower Mobile One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $11M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are hurricane and tropical storm 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 | 27 | 1,123 | 2.4% |
| 2000s | 292 | 4,928 | 5.9% |
| 2010s | 92 | 2,761 | 3.3% |
| 2020-26 | 105 | 2,697 | 3.9% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hurricane and tropical storm records in Alabama
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-10-29 | Tropical StormTallapoosa County · forecast zone Tallapoosa | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 2020-09-15 | Tropical StormButler County · forecast zone Butler | 0 | 0 | $267K | |
| 2020-09-15 | Storm Surge/TideBaldwin County · forecast zone Baldwin Coastal | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2020-09-15 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Baldwin County · forecast zone Baldwin Coastal | 2 | 0 | $269M | |
| 2020-09-15 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Mobile County · forecast zone Mobile Coastal | 0 | 0 | $87M | |
| 2018-10-10 | Tropical StormHenry County · forecast zone Henry | 0 | 0 | $518K | |
| 2018-10-10 | Tropical StormGeneva County · forecast zone Geneva | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | |
| 2018-10-10 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Houston County · forecast zone Houston | 0 | 0 | $3.5M | |
| 2017-10-07 | Tropical StormMobile County · forecast zone Mobile Coastal | 0 | 0 | $903K | |
| 2017-10-07 | Tropical StormMobile County · forecast zone Mobile Central | 0 | 0 | $301K | |
| 2017-10-07 | Storm Surge/TideMobile County · forecast zone Mobile Central | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 2017-10-07 | Storm Surge/TideMobile County · forecast zone Mobile Coastal | 0 | 0 | $12M |
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 hurricane and tropical storm records in Alabama
FEMA has declared 27 disasters in Alabama for hurricane and tropical storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name hurricane or tropical storm or typhoon in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 18 were major disasters, the latest on September 26, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-09-26 | EM-3618 | Hurricane Helene | 67 |
| 2020-12-10 | DR-4573 | Hurricane Zeta | 21 |
| 2020-09-20 | DR-4563 | Hurricane Sally | 15 |
| 2020-09-14 | EM-3545 | Hurricane Sally | 68 |
| 2018-11-05 | DR-4406 | Hurricane Michael | 5 |
| 2018-10-12 | EM-3407 | Hurricane Michael | 18 |
| 2017-11-16 | DR-4349 | Hurricane Nate | 8 |
| 2017-10-08 | EM-3394 | Hurricane Nate | 40 |
| 2017-09-11 | EM-3389 | Hurricane Irma | 68 |
| 2012-09-21 | DR-4082 | Hurricane Isaac | 8 |
| 2009-12-22 | DR-1866 | Tropical Storm Ida | 2 |
| 2008-09-26 | DR-1797 | Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Hurricane Ike | 2 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Mobile County: the county's whole recordThe Alabama county with the most hurricane and tropical storm records per square mile
- Hurricanes and tropical storms 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