NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Florence, 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
8 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Florence, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Katrina in 2005. Since 1950, 120 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 120
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Florence
None of the 8 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Florence; the strongest was Frederic in 1979, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 19 miles away. The record near Florence begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Katrina in 2005, a tropical storm 33 miles away. The 1910s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. Of the 8 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 323 Alabama cities on this site, 85% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Florence. The strongest of the 120 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 18, 1995; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 3 people. Of the 120, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 76 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on May 20, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Florence. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 151 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Florence has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 323 Alabama cities.
Compare Florence's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Florence
Of the 8 tracks on the map, 5 were moving northeast as they passed Florence, 3 north. Frederic (1979), the strongest pass, was heading northeast; its centre passed 19 miles southeast of Florence. None made landfall within 75 miles of Florence; 7 of the 8 were hurricanes at their peak, none at their closest to the city. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025), 1 came near Florence: 0.3 a decade, against 0.5 a decade from 1851 to 1995.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 19 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Florence: 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 Florence
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s31(1 EF3+)
- 2000s24
- 1990s11(2 EF3+)
- 1980s7(2 EF3+)
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11(5 EF3+)
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 1995 | F4 | 16 mi | 29 mi | 3 / 32 |
| Mar 9, 1964 | F3 | 18 mi | 5.2 mi | 2 / 2 |
| Feb 20, 1953 | F3 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Dec 23, 2015 | EF3 | 25 mi | 48.38 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 26, 1994 | F3 | 13 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Nov 4, 1988 | F3 | 14 mi | 60 mi | 0 / 16 |
| Nov 4, 1988 | F3 | 25 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1972 | F3 | 21 mi | 32.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 13 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 2 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 17, 1965 | F3 | 7 mi | 29.8 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Mar 9, 1964 | F3 | 20 mi | 10.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 120, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Florence
The Storm Prediction Center has 151 hail reports within 10 miles of Florence since 1960, made on 92 separate days. Of these, 83 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 2, 2003. The most recent report is from May 20, 2025. March has the most reports, 35.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Florence
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Muscle Shoals Regional Airport, AL, 9 miles southeast of Florence at 540 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 34°F. December is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 54.5 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 69 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 56 nights a year. That 54.5 inches is more than at 15 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (14%). Killen, 11 miles east, has its own station (Lexington, AL): 58.6 inches a year, 4.1 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 34 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Feb | 57 | 37 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Mar | 65 | 44 | 5.1 | 8 |
| Apr | 74 | 52 | 4.8 | 7 |
| May | 82 | 61 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Jun | 89 | 68 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Jul | 92 | 71 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Aug | 91 | 70 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Sep | 86 | 63 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 76 | 52 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 64 | 41 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Dec | 55 | 36 | 5.5 | 8 |
| Year | 74 | 52 | 54.5 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Muscle Shoals Regional Airport, AL (540 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 Florence
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 1,117 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Florence: 950 thunderstorm wind reports, 108 flash floods, 27 floods, 23 lightning strikes and 9 heavy rain events. They killed 6 people and injured 12, and the NWS estimated $13.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 93 mph, on March 30, 2022. June has had the most flash floods, 23 of 108. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 318 have had fewer than Florence.
October 24, 2010: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Florence — 1 killed, 2 injured.
April 10, 2025: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Florence — 1 killed, 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
May 27, 2008: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Florence — 1 killed, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “Rounds of thunderstorms producing very heavy rainfall caused several inches of water to cover the roadway on the Natchez Parkway, about a half mile from the Alabama Highway 20 intersection near Central Heights.”
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 Florence's 3 ZIP codes have filed 129 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2003, with 22. 2% 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, 92 have fewer than Florence.
Lauderdale County, which includes Florence, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on May 5, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lauderdale County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $53.8 million a year, the 10th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.2 million (43%), 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 Florence
- Sheffield, AL7 mi
- Muscle Shoals, AL7 mi
- Tuscumbia, AL11 mi
- Killen, AL11 mi
- Iron City, TN15 mi
- Leighton, AL16 mi
- Cherokee, AL19 mi
- Lexington, AL19 mi
- Loretto, TN21 mi
- Town Creek, AL22 mi
- Rogersville, AL22 mi
- Russellville, AL23 mi
All Alabama cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Florence with another place →