Alabama winter storms

Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 67 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,470 winter storm records in Alabama from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 49 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 28, 2014 winter storm: 9 deaths and 5 injuries across 7 records. Alabama ranks 43rd of 51 states and territories by count and 42nd of 50 per square mile.

Winter storms in Alabama, 1996 to 2026

Winter storm 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: 1,4701996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 49average
Deaths: 2431 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $29Mas filed
Busiest year: 2010226 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 winter storm records common in Alabama?

Alabama averages about 49 winter storm records a year since 2000, 43rd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2010 (226). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Alabama records 290 winter storm records since 1996, 42nd 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 winter storm records?

Per square mile, Morgan County leads Alabama: 58 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 100.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Madison County has the most winter storm records (77 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).

Morgan County 100.1 (62)
Limestone County 92.3 (55)
Marshall County 91.9 (57)
Madison County 89.8 (77)
Lauderdale County 88.3 (62)
DeKalb County 82.4 (66)
Colbert County 79.3 (49)
Franklin County 72.6 (46)
Lawrence County 69.5 (49)
Jackson County 63.1 (71)
Cullman County 61.2 (46)
Cherokee County 54.2 (30)

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 winter storm season in Alabama?

72% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (625 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 625 · Feb 433 · Mar 108 · Apr 1 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 20 · Dec 283 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest winter storm records in Alabama?

Alabama: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2014-01-28	Winter StormElmore County · forecast zone Elmore One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. On Monday, January 27, a very strong arctic front moved through Central Alabama, bringing extremely cold and dry air to the area. Across the north, temperatures dropped through the day and into the 30's shortly after sunset. Temperatures across the entire area continued to plummet overnight and Tuesday morning, ...	9	5	–
2010-12-15	Winter WeatherPike County · forecast zone Pike One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Moisture increased ahead of a weak storm system on Wednesday, December 15, 2010, across Central Alabama. Temperatures near or below freezing at the surface resulted in widespread freezing rain and sleet beginning around sunrise and lasting through most of the day. Although precipitation was light, ice quickly ...	3	4	–
2011-01-09	Ice StormTuscaloosa County · forecast zone Tuscaloosa One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. As a low pressure system moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday January 9th, moisture pushed northward into Central Alabama, interacting with cold air already in place across the area. The combination of moisture and cold air brought a wintry mix of precipitation to most of Central Alabama, Sunday ...	2	9	–
2010-01-29	Winter StormLauderdale County · forecast zone Lauderdale A mix of rain, sleet, and snow on Friday morning changed to primarily freezing rain, sleet and rain during the day on Friday. Up to 0.25 inches of ice accumulated on area trees and elevated surfaces, paritcularly in western portions of the county by the early afternoon hours. In addition, around 1 inch of snowfall ...	2	4	–
2010-02-12	Heavy SnowMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery An average of 2 to 3 inches of snow fell across the whole of Montgomery County. The highest amount, 4 inches, was observed in the Ramer community. Many bridges and other elevated surfaces became icy and hazardous. On AL-110, near the Pike Road community, a vehicle lost control and slid into a pond, killing a ...	2	1	–
2010-01-07	Winter WeatherCullman County · forecast zone Cullman One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. After midnight on the 6th into the day on the 7th, a low pressure system which had developed in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico brought snowfall to northern Alabama. Most locations received around one half of an inch. However, isolated locations received around 1 inch of snowfall. Refreezing of the melted snowfall ...	2	1	–
2010-02-15	Winter WeatherLimestone County · forecast zone Limestone Up to 2 inches of snowfall accumulation was reported across the county. Several locations received 2 inches of snowfall. These locations included: Athens and Ardmore. Tragically, one person was killed and two were injured in a wreck that occurred Monday morning during the slick conditions.	1	2	–
1998-12-23	Ice StormMadison County · forecast zone Madison One storm episode: 14 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. A winter storm brought a mixture of freezing rain...sleet...and rain to the northern half of Alabama. The northwestern quarter of Alabama was especially hard hit. The precipitation began in a narrow band across Fayette, Walker, Cullman, and Marshall counties around 2 am and then around 5am in the rest of the counties ...	1	0	$15M
2025-01-21	Heavy SnowButler County · forecast zone Butler One storm episode: 16 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. A historic snowstorm transformed the northern Gulf Coast into a winter wonderland on January 21, 2025. This snowstorm shattered longstanding snowfall records across the region, including the nearly 130-year-old snowfall records that were set during the February Snowstorm of 1895. The highest observed snowfall totals ...	1	0	–
2025-01-10	Winter StormTalladega County · forecast zone Talladega One storm episode: 20 records in 20 places; the totals are the episode's. A shortwave trough moved into the Mississippi Valley by early January 10, with a surface low moving across Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Existing cold air across the northern half of the state supported snowfall, which occurred after 3 AM. Moderate to heavy snowfall fell across the Birmingham metro area, 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 winter storm records in Alabama

Alabama: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Damage
1998-12-23	Ice StormMadison County · forecast zone Madison One storm episode: 14 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's.	1	$15M
2000-01-22	Ice StormJackson County · forecast zone Jackson One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	$4.6M
2000-01-28	Ice StormDeKalb County · forecast zone Dekalb	0	$1.4M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are winter 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.

Winter storms: Alabama and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Alabama	United States	Alabama's share
1996-99	212	32,893	0.64%
2000s	244	88,805	0.27%
2010s	776	103,626	0.75%
2020-26	238	62,015	0.38%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent winter storm records in Alabama

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2026-03-16	Winter WeatherSt. Clair County · forecast zone St. Clair	–
2026-03-16	Winter WeatherCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee	–
2026-03-16	Winter WeatherEtowah County · forecast zone Etowah	–
2026-03-16	Winter WeatherShelby County · forecast zone Shelby	–
2026-03-16	Winter WeatherBlount County · forecast zone Blount	–
2026-03-16	Winter WeatherJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson	–
2026-03-16	Winter WeatherWinston County · forecast zone Winston	–
2026-01-31	Winter WeatherDeKalb County · forecast zone Dekalb	–
2026-01-31	Winter WeatherJackson County · forecast zone Jackson	–
2026-01-31	Winter WeatherPike County · forecast zone Pike	–
2026-01-31	Winter WeatherCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee	–
2026-01-24	Winter WeatherWinston County · forecast zone Winston	–

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 winter storm records in Alabama

FEMA has declared 4 disasters in Alabama for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 3 were major disasters, the latest on February 18, 2000.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2000-02-18	DR-1317	Severe Winter Storms	3
1996-02-23	DR-1104	Severe Winter Storms, Ice and Flooding	14
1994-03-03	DR-1013	Severe Winter Storms, Freezing, Flooding	10
1993-03-15	EM-3096	Severe Snowfall, Winter Storm	67

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.