NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Elba, 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
47 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Elba, Alabama since 1851, 8 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Fred in 2021. Since 1950, 120 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 8
- Tropical storms
- 39
- Tornadoes
- 120
- 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 Elba
The strongest storm to pass near Elba was Eloise in 1975, a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds when its centre crossed the city. The record near Elba begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Fred in 2021, a tropical storm 40 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 6 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 47 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Elba has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 80% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The strongest of the 120 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on March 1, 2007; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 120, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on March 15, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Elba. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 18 times since 1975, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 323 Alabama cities, 94% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Elba.
Compare Elba's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Elba
Of the 47 tracks on the map, 18 were moving northeast as they passed Elba, 14 north and 9 northwest. Eloise (1975), the strongest pass, was heading north and came ashore 72 miles south of Elba. Within 75 miles of Elba, 5 of the 47 came ashore, 3 of them as hurricanes. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025), 6 came near Elba: 2.0 a decade, against 2.8 a decade from 1851 to 1995.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | FredAug 17 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2020 | SallySep 17 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2009 | ClaudetteAug 17 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | FayAug 23 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2001 | BarryAug 6 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2000 | HeleneSep 22 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 35 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1994 | AlbertoJul 3 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1985 | JuanOct 31 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | overhead | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1969 | Unnamed 1969 stormOct 1 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | HildaOct 5 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | DebbieSep 8 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1956 | FlossySep 25 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1953 | FlorenceSep 26 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1953 | AliceJun 6 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormJul 9 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 13 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1937 | Unnamed 1937 stormAug 31 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormJul 31 | 64 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 15 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1919 | Unnamed 1919 stormJul 4 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1917 | Unnamed 1917 stormSep 29 | 30 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 67 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 4 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1914 | Unnamed 1914 stormSep 18 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 13 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 14 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 17 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormAug 2 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormAug 3 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 7 | 27 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 23 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormOct 19 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 27 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 15 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 28 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormAug 31 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 16 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormSep 20 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormAug 12 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 31 | 68 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Elba: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Check hail and hurricane history for any address
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Elba
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s19
- 2000s21(1 EF3+)
- 1990s25
- 1980s14(2 EF3+)
- 1970s16(5 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2007 | EF4 | 14 mi | 10.33 mi | 9 / 50 |
| Nov 25, 1986 | F3 | 9 mi | 44 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 16, 1983 | F3 | 9 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Dec 19, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 11.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 30, 1973 | F3 | 25 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Dec 29, 1973 | F3 | 13 mi | 11.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Sep 17, 1971 | F3 | 6 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 23.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 13, 1972 | F2 | 18 mi | 6.3 mi | 4 / 88 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | EF2 | 22 mi | 21.31 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 19, 2020 | EF2 | 19 mi | 1.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 4, 2015 | EF2 | 19 mi | 14.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 120, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Elba
The Storm Prediction Center has 18 hail reports within 10 miles of Elba since 1975, made on 15 separate days. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently March 25, 2023. The most recent report is from May 8, 2025. April has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Elba
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Enterprise 4 W, AL, 14 miles southeast of Elba at 337 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 61°F and 38°F. July is the wettest at 7.0 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 58.0 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (30.4 of 58.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 47 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (15); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 4.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 72 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 25 nights a year. That 58.0 inches is more than at 63 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (59%). Opp, 15 miles southwest, has its own station (Andalusia 3 W, AL): 60.3 inches a year, 2.3 more than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61 | 38 | 5.5 | 7 |
| Feb | 65 | 41 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Mar | 72 | 47 | 5.0 | 6 |
| Apr | 78 | 53 | 4.5 | 6 |
| May | 86 | 62 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Jun | 90 | 68 | 5.6 | 9 |
| Jul | 92 | 71 | 7.0 | 9 |
| Aug | 91 | 71 | 5.6 | 8 |
| Sep | 88 | 66 | 4.8 | 5 |
| Oct | 81 | 56 | 3.0 | 3 |
| Nov | 71 | 46 | 4.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 63 | 40 | 4.8 | 5 |
| Year | 78 | 55 | 58.0 | 73 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Enterprise 4 W, AL (337 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 Elba
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 212 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Elba: 185 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 7 floods, 5 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on April 19, 2020. March has had the most flash floods, 5 of 13. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 162 have had fewer than Elba.
June 22, 2000: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Elba — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees and power lines down. An elderly woman was killed when a tree fell on her vehicle at the intersection of County Roads 349 and 306.”
April 29, 1996: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Elba — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
February 17, 2008: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Elba — 1 injured.
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 Elba's ZIP code 36323 have filed 509 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $16.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1998: 363 claims (71% of all) and $14.0 million, then Tropical Storm Alberto in 1994 with 64 and Early winter storms in 2015 with 47. 94% 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, 106 have fewer than Elba.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1998 | 363 | $14.0 million |
| Tropical Storm Alberto1994 | 64 | $398,000 |
| Early winter storms2015 | 47 | $1.7 million |
Coffee County, which includes Elba, has been named in 30 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1975, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 hurricanes, 11 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Sally, on September 20, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Coffee County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $43.0 million a year, the 15th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.2 million (49%), 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 Elba
- New Brockton, AL9 mi
- Opp, AL15 mi
- Enterprise, AL15 mi
- Kinston, AL16 mi
- Brantley, AL18 mi
- Chancellor, AL22 mi
- Fort Rucker, AL22 mi
- Brundidge, AL23 mi
- Daleville, AL23 mi
- Samson, AL23 mi
- Luverne, AL24 mi
- Andalusia, AL25 mi
All Alabama cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Elba with another place →