NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Goodwater, 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
22 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Goodwater, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 90 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 90
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
31 deaths in all
What the records show for Goodwater
None of the 22 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Goodwater; the strongest was Eloise in 1975, a tropical storm with 69 mph winds when its centre passed 21 miles away. The record near Goodwater begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 35 miles away. The 1890s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 22 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Goodwater has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 60% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The highest rating among the 90 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on January 12, 2023, killed 7 people. Of the 90, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 52 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on March 15, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Goodwater. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 29 times since 1988, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 323 Alabama cities, 83% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Goodwater.
Compare Goodwater's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Goodwater
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2004 | IvanSep 16 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | JuanNov 1 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 15 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 8 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 4 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 13 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 28 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Goodwater: 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 Goodwater
By decade
- 2020s14(2 EF3+)
- 2010s18(1 EF3+)
- 2000s20
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s12
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 25 mi | 44.18 mi | 7 / 30 |
| May 27, 1973 | F4 | 18 mi | 139.1 mi | 7 / 199 |
| May 1, 1953 | F4 | 11 mi | 12.1 mi | 7 / 12 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF3 | 19 mi | 82.31 mi | 7 / 16 |
| Nov 17, 1968 | F3 | 18 mi | 32.3 mi | 1 / 24 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | EF3 | 18 mi | 20.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 18, 1996 | F3 | 19 mi | 24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | EF2 | 18 mi | 3.63 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 16 mi | 34.04 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF2 | 16 mi | 31.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF2 | 21 mi | 14.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 17 mi | 28.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 90, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Goodwater
The Storm Prediction Center has 29 hail reports within 10 miles of Goodwater since 1988, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 14 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 19, 2006. The most recent report is from August 18, 2024. April has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Goodwater
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Alexander City, AL, 12 miles southeast of Goodwater at 640 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 32°F. January is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 57.0 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (25.6 of 57.0 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 22 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 62 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 59 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 57.0 inches is more than at 48 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (45%). Sylacauga, 14 miles northwest, has its own station (Sylacauga 4 NE, AL): 57.3 inches a year, 0.3 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 | 56 | 32 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Feb | 60 | 35 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 68 | 42 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 75 | 48 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 58 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 66 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 70 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 69 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 63 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 77 | 51 | 2.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 66 | 40 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 58 | 35 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 75 | 51 | 57.0 | 81 | 0.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Alexander City, AL (640 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 Goodwater
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 48 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Goodwater: 39 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $106,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on February 16, 2025. September has had the most flash floods, 3 of 7. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 83 have had fewer than Goodwater.
August 12, 2013: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Goodwater — 1 injured.
NWS: “A person was injured when struck by lightning.”
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
Coosa County, which includes Goodwater, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 hurricanes, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on May 5, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Coosa County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, hail, inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.9 million a year, the 66th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.3 million (68%), 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 Goodwater
- Sylacauga, AL14 mi
- Alexander City, AL15 mi
- Ashland, AL16 mi
- Jacksons Gap, AL20 mi
- Childersburg, AL22 mi
- Alpine, AL23 mi
- Talladega, AL23 mi
- Lineville, AL25 mi
- Dadeville, AL25 mi
- Eclectic, AL27 mi
- Wadley, AL28 mi
- Shelby, AL28 mi
All Alabama cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Goodwater with another place →