NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Anniston, AL
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
17 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Anniston, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 82 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 17
- Tornadoes
- 82
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
68 deaths in all
What the records show for Anniston
None of the 17 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Anniston; the strongest was Eloise in 1975, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 25 miles away. The record near Anniston begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 12 miles away. The 1890s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 17 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 323 Alabama cities on this site, 54% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Anniston. The highest rating among the 82 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 16 miles. Of the 82, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on May 20, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Anniston. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 96 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Anniston has more hail reports within 10 miles than 80% of the 323 Alabama cities.
Compare Anniston's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Anniston
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | JuanNov 1 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 8 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 5 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 13 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Anniston: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Anniston
By decade
- 2020s6(1 EF3+)
- 2010s7(2 EF3+)
- 2000s22
- 1990s9(2 EF3+)
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10(2 EF3+)
- 1960s13(4 EF3+)
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 16 mi | 97.33 mi | 22 / 85 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F4 | 12 mi | 50 mi | 22 / 150 |
| May 27, 1973 | F4 | 10 mi | 139.1 mi | 7 / 199 |
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF3 | 11 mi | 38.17 mi | 6 / 10 |
| Dec 3, 1983 | F3 | 3 mi | 4 mi | 2 / 51 |
| Jan 10, 1975 | F3 | 19 mi | 18.8 mi | 1 / 60 |
| Mar 19, 2018 | EF3 | 11 mi | 35.22 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Feb 21, 1993 | F3 | 25 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 28, 1964 | F3 | 23 mi | 15.7 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 28, 1964 | F3 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 21, 1962 | F3 | 6 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Dec 11, 1961 | F3 | 9 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 82, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Anniston
The Storm Prediction Center has 96 hail reports within 10 miles of Anniston since 1967, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 64 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 20, 1970. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. May has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Anniston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Anniston Metro Airport, AL, 6 miles southwest of Anniston at 594 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 34°F. March is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 52.2 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (23.5 of 52.2 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 17 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (7); a normal September there has highs of 85°F and 3.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 60 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 52 nights a year. That 52.2 inches is more than at 6 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (6%). Jacksonville, 11 miles north, has its own station (Heflin, AL): 57.6 inches a year, 5.4 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 34 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Feb | 59 | 37 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Mar | 67 | 44 | 5.4 | 8 |
| Apr | 75 | 51 | 4.4 | 7 |
| May | 82 | 60 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Jun | 88 | 67 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Jul | 90 | 71 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Aug | 90 | 70 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 85 | 64 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Oct | 76 | 52 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Nov | 65 | 41 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Dec | 57 | 37 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Year | 74 | 52 | 52.2 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Anniston Metro Airport, AL (594 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Anniston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 118 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Anniston: 105 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods, 3 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on February 26, 2008. March has had the most flash floods, 3 of 9. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 105 have had fewer than Anniston.
July 1, 2007: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Anniston — $500,000 damage.
February 26, 2008: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Anniston — $260,000 damage.
February 26, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Anniston — $200,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Anniston's 3 ZIP codes have filed 73 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $673,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2003, with 11. 25% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 118 Alabama cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 76 have fewer than Anniston.
Calhoun County, which includes Anniston, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 8 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on April 26, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Calhoun County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $53.8 million a year, the 11th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $26.8 million (50%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.