NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Huntsville, 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
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Huntsville, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 185 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 19 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 185
- EF3 or stronger
- 19
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
173 deaths in all
What the records show for Huntsville
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Huntsville; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. The record near Huntsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 2 systems. Of the 7 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 323 Alabama cities on this site, 90% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Huntsville. The highest rating among the 185 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 9 miles. Of the 185, 23 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 125 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 53. The most recent tornado was on May 27, 2025. Huntsville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 91% of the 323 Alabama cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 275 times since 1961, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Huntsville has more hail reports within 10 miles than any other of the 323 Alabama cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Huntsville
Of the 7 tracks on the map, 5 were moving northeast as they passed Huntsville, 2 north. Zeta (2020), the strongest pass, was heading northeast; its centre passed 73 miles southeast of Huntsville. None made landfall within 75 miles of Huntsville; 5 of the 7 were hurricanes at their peak, none at their closest to the city. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025), 1 came near Huntsville: 0.3 a decade, against 0.4 a decade from 1851 to 1995.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 19 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 6 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 Huntsville: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Huntsville
By decade
- 2020s36(1 EF3+)
- 2010s50(5 EF3+)
- 2000s39
- 1990s16(2 EF3+)
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s18(6 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF5 | 9 mi | 132 mi | 72 / 145 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 10 mi | 52 mi | 28 / 267 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 17 mi | 83.3 mi | 16 / 190 |
| Nov 15, 1989 | F4 | 3 mi | 18.5 mi | 21 / 463 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 20 mi | 27.5 mi | 11 / 121 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 20 mi | 46.88 mi | 6 / 48 |
| Mar 22, 1952 | F4 | 3 mi | 21.6 mi | 4 / 50 |
| May 18, 1995 | F4 | 7 mi | 39 mi | 1 / 55 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF3 | 20 mi | 26.76 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF3 | 22 mi | 15.56 mi | 2 / 30 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 3 mi | 46.5 mi | 2 / 7 |
| Apr 8, 1957 | F3 | 21 mi | 38.8 mi | 2 / 90 |
The strongest 12 of 185, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Huntsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 275 hail reports within 10 miles of Huntsville since 1961, made on 122 separate days. Of these, 162 were 1 inch across or larger, and 17 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on April 10, 2009. The most recent report is from May 20, 2025. April has the most reports, 80.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Huntsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Huntsville International Airport, AL, 12 miles southwest of Huntsville at 624 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 33°F. December is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 54.6 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 62 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 56 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 54.6 inches is more than at 17 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (16%). Brownsboro, 6 miles east, has its own station (Owens Cross Roads 3S, AL): 58.0 inches a year, 3.4 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 33 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.7 |
| Feb | 57 | 36 | 5.1 | 8 | 1.0 |
| Mar | 66 | 43 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 75 | 51 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 83 | 60 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 68 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 71 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 70 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 63 | 3.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 52 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 64 | 41 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 55 | 36 | 5.9 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 74 | 52 | 54.6 | 79 | 2.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Huntsville International Airport, AL (624 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 Huntsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 740 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Huntsville: 572 thunderstorm wind reports, 101 flash floods, 34 lightning strikes, 22 floods and 11 heavy rain events. They killed 5 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $4.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 94 mph, on May 20, 2025. August has had the most flash floods, 22 of 101. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 317 have had fewer than Huntsville.
July 14, 2016: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Huntsville — 1 killed, 3 injured.
NWS: “Media reports lightning has struck an individual on the Redstone Stone Arsenal grounds. Strike developed well outside the line of storms.”
August 19, 2022: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Huntsville — 1 killed, $500 damage.
August 21, 2010: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Huntsville — 1 killed.
NWS: “A man working on a air conditioning unit was indirectly struck by lightning. He was transported to the hospital.”
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 Huntsville's 10 ZIP codes have filed 534 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $8.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1990: 12 claims (2% of all) and $187,000, then Hurricane Frederic in 1979 with 10. The year with the most claims was 1999, with 223. 7% 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, 107 have fewer than Huntsville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1990 | 12 | $187,000 |
| Hurricane Frederic1979 | 10 | $207,000 |
Madison County, which includes Huntsville, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 6 hurricanes, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Madison County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $179.6 million a year, the 4th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $99.1 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 Huntsville
- Brownsboro, AL6 mi
- Madison, AL9 mi
- Owens Cross Roads, AL10 mi
- Meridianville, AL10 mi
- Harvest, AL11 mi
- Gurley, AL12 mi
- Laceys Spring, AL14 mi
- Toney, AL14 mi
- New Market, AL16 mi
- Hazel Green, AL16 mi
- New Hope, AL17 mi
- Somerville, AL18 mi
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