NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fultondale, 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
14 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Fultondale, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 175 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 19 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 14
- Tornadoes
- 175
- EF3 or stronger
- 19
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
196 deaths in all
What the records show for Fultondale
None of the 14 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fultondale; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 66 mph winds when its centre passed 20 miles away. The record near Fultondale begins with an unnamed storm in 1879; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 4 systems. Of the 14 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 323 Alabama cities on this site, 64% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Fultondale. The highest rating among the 175 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 8, 1998, came within 4 miles. The deadliest, an EF4 on April 27, 2011, killed 64 people. Of the 175, 20 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 92 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 56. The most recent tornado was on November 25, 2025. Fultondale has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 323 Alabama cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 207 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Fultondale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 323 Alabama cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fultondale
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2004 | IvanSep 16 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | JuanNov 1 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 8 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fultondale: 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 Fultondale
By decade
- 2020s21(2 EF3+)
- 2010s30(6 EF3+)
- 2000s41
- 1990s17(1 EF3+)
- 1980s14
- 1970s29(2 EF3+)
- 1960s14(4 EF3+)
- 1950s9(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 1998 | F5 | 4 mi | 30.3 mi | 32 / 259 |
| Apr 4, 1977 | F5 | 3 mi | 14.7 mi | 22 / 130 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 1 mi | 80.68 mi | 64 / 1500 |
| Apr 15, 1956 | F4 | 3 mi | 21.3 mi | 25 / 200 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 15 mi | 97.33 mi | 22 / 85 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 23 mi | 127.8 mi | 13 / 54 |
| Mar 6, 1967 | F4 | 11 mi | 20.9 mi | 2 / 25 |
| Mar 11, 1963 | F4 | 21 mi | 28 mi | 2 / 6 |
| Mar 5, 1963 | F4 | 10 mi | 14.9 mi | 0 / 35 |
| Jan 25, 2021 | EF3 | in town | 10.4 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Jan 23, 2012 | EF3 | 4 mi | 15.69 mi | 1 / 75 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 7 mi | 41.6 mi | 1 / 44 |
The strongest 12 of 175, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fultondale
The Storm Prediction Center has 207 hail reports within 10 miles of Fultondale since 1958, made on 146 separate days. Of these, 114 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 27, 1994. The most recent report is from June 27, 2025. April has the most reports, 49.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fultondale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Birmingham Airport, AL, 5 miles southeast of Fultondale at 615 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 35°F. March is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 56.7 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 46% of the year's precipitation (26.1 of 56.7 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 14 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 65 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 47 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.4 inches a year, most of it in March. That 56.7 inches is more than at 40 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (37%). Gardendale, 5 miles north, has its own station (Pinson, AL): 57.1 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 35 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Feb | 59 | 38 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 67 | 45 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 75 | 52 | 5.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 61 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 69 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 72 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 71 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 65 | 4.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 54 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 65 | 43 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 57 | 38 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Year | 74 | 54 | 56.7 | 81 | 1.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Birmingham Airport, AL (615 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 Fultondale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 269 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fultondale: 204 thunderstorm wind reports, 47 flash floods, 13 heavy rain events, 3 lightning strikes and 2 floods. They killed 3 people and injured 22, and the NWS estimated $2.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on March 10, 2000. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 282 have had fewer than Fultondale.
July 21, 2022: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Fultondale — 2 killed, 3 injured.
May 2, 2025: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Fultondale — 1 killed, 1 injured.
February 27, 1999: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Fultondale — 5 injured, $8,000 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
Jefferson County, which includes Fultondale, has been named in 39 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 severe storms, 10 hurricanes, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on December 21, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jefferson County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind 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 $262.4 million a year, the 2nd highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $143.1 million (55%), 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 Fultondale
- Gardendale, AL5 mi
- Mount Olive, AL5 mi
- Birmingham, AL7 mi
- Adamsville, AL8 mi
- Graysville, AL9 mi
- Morris, AL9 mi
- Mountain Brk, AL10 mi
- Fairfield, AL11 mi
- Kimberly, AL11 mi
- Pinson, AL12 mi
- Pleasant Grove, AL12 mi
- Midfield, AL12 mi
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