NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Jacksonville, 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
15 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Jacksonville, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 88 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 17 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 15
- Tornadoes
- 88
- EF3 or stronger
- 17
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
71 deaths in all
What the records show for Jacksonville
None of the 15 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Jacksonville; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 5 miles away. The record near Jacksonville begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 4 systems. Of the 15 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 323 Alabama cities on this site, 61% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Jacksonville. The highest rating among the 88 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 7 miles. Of the 88, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on May 20, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 86% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Jacksonville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 65 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Jacksonville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 323 Alabama cities.
Compare Jacksonville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Jacksonville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | JuanNov 1 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 8 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 5 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 13 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Jacksonville: 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 Jacksonville
By decade
- 2020s6(1 EF3+)
- 2010s9(2 EF3+)
- 2000s22(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13(3 EF3+)
- 1980s9(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(5 EF3+)
- 1960s11(3 EF3+)
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 7 mi | 97.33 mi | 22 / 85 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F4 | 3 mi | 50 mi | 22 / 150 |
| May 27, 1973 | F4 | 20 mi | 139.1 mi | 7 / 199 |
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF3 | 3 mi | 38.17 mi | 6 / 10 |
| Dec 3, 1983 | F3 | 14 mi | 4 mi | 2 / 51 |
| Feb 21, 1993 | F3 | 24 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 35 |
| Apr 4, 1977 | F3 | 22 mi | 7.3 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jan 10, 1975 | F3 | 20 mi | 18.8 mi | 1 / 60 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 23 mi | 41.6 mi | 1 / 44 |
| Mar 19, 2018 | EF3 | in town | 35.22 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Dec 16, 2000 | F3 | 18 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Feb 21, 1993 | F3 | 14 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 88, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Jacksonville
The Storm Prediction Center has 65 hail reports within 10 miles of Jacksonville since 1967, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 7, 1985. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. March has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Jacksonville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Heflin, AL, 16 miles southeast of Jacksonville at 1,000 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 30°F. February is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 57.6 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 44% of the year's precipitation (25.6 of 57.6 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 15 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 84°F and 3.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 37 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 72 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.2 inches a year, most of it in March. That 57.6 inches is more than at 56 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (52%). Weaver, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Anniston Metro Airport, AL): 52.2 inches a year, 5.4 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 30 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.4 |
| Feb | 58 | 33 | 5.9 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Mar | 66 | 39 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 73 | 46 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 55 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 63 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 67 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 66 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 60 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 75 | 48 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 64 | 37 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 56 | 33 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Year | 72 | 48 | 57.6 | 83 | 1.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Heflin, AL (1,000 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 Jacksonville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 81 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Jacksonville: 74 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods, 2 floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $883,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on February 26, 2008.
July 1, 2007: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Jacksonville — $500,000 damage.
February 26, 2008: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Jacksonville — $100,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Jacksonville's ZIP code 36265 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $4,204 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 10% 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, 0 have fewer than Jacksonville.
Calhoun County, which includes Jacksonville, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 8 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on April 26, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Calhoun County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $53.8 million a year, the 11th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $26.8 million (50%), 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.