NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Butler, 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
38 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Butler, Alabama since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 80 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 36
- Tornadoes
- 80
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for Butler
The strongest storm to pass near Butler was Frederic in 1979, a Category 1 hurricane with 78 mph winds when its centre passed 27 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Zeta in 2020, whose centre came within 4 miles. The record near Butler begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020. Of the 38 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Butler has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 71% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The highest rating among the 80 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 15 miles. Of the 80, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 63 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on April 6, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Butler. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 38 times since 1973, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 323 Alabama cities, 71% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Butler.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Butler
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 4 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2017 | NateOct 8 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | LeeSep 5 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 29 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2005 | DennisJul 11 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2004 | IvanSep 16 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | ErinAug 4 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1985 | JuanNov 1 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 27 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1971 | EdithSep 17 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormSep 4 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 14 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormJun 16 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormAug 1 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 16 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 6 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 14 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 27 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormAug 3 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1895 | Unnamed 1895 stormAug 17 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 8 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 12 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormSep 1 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 16 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormJul 12 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 16 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 17 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 26 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Butler: 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 Butler
By decade
- 2020s29(1 EF3+)
- 2010s24(3 EF3+)
- 2000s10
- 1990s4(1 EF3+)
- 1980s1
- 1970s4
- 1960s5(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 15 mi | 122.04 mi | 7 / 17 |
| May 1, 1953 | F4 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 2 / 3 |
| Mar 10, 1992 | F3 | 19 mi | 20 mi | 3 / 57 |
| Apr 15, 2011 | EF3 | 14 mi | 15.33 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Feb 12, 2025 | EF3 | 23 mi | 27.49 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 16, 2019 | EF3 | 8 mi | 61.19 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 18, 1967 | F3 | 23 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 18, 1957 | F3 | 25 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 6, 2025 | EF2 | 15 mi | 5.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 14, 2022 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 14, 2022 | EF2 | 14 mi | 19.51 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 2022 | EF2 | 19 mi | 43.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 80, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Butler
The Storm Prediction Center has 38 hail reports within 10 miles of Butler since 1973, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 15, 2011. The most recent report is from April 5, 2022. April has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Butler
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 64 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Butler: 47 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods and 2 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $578,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 5, 1998. March has had the most flash floods, 4 of 15. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 183 have had fewer than Butler.
March 31, 2005: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Butler — 1 killed.
NWS: “Heavy rains caused several roads across Choctaw county to have standing water in them. Several roads had to be closed for more than an hour due to high water.”
June 5, 1998: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Butler — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “A line of severe thunderstorms moved across the county from west to east between 1015 pm and 1045 pm. Trees and power lines were blown down throughout the county.”
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 Butler's ZIP code 36904 have filed 37 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $282,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 41% 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, 57 have fewer than Butler.
Choctaw County, which includes Butler, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Zeta, on December 10, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Choctaw County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and inland flooding; Relatively Low for hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.6 million a year, the 28th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.8 million (52%), 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.
Cities near Butler
- Quitman, MS26 mi
- York, AL27 mi
- Toomsuba, MS28 mi
- Thomasville, AL29 mi
- Linden, AL29 mi
- Livingston, AL32 mi
- Millry, AL33 mi
- Lauderdale, MS34 mi
- Meridian, MS34 mi
- Shubuta, MS35 mi
- Demopolis, AL35 mi
- Enterprise, MS36 mi
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