NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Madison, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Madison, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 204 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 23 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 204
- EF3 or stronger
- 23
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
195 deaths in all
What the records show for Madison
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Madison; the strongest was Frederic in 1979, a tropical storm with 47 mph winds when its centre passed 31 miles away. The record near Madison begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 50 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 2 systems. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Of the 323 Alabama cities on this site, 97% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Madison. The highest rating among the 204 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 5 miles. Of the 204, 18 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 145 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 55 each. The most recent tornado was on May 27, 2025. Madison has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 99% of the 323 Alabama cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 251 times since 1955, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Madison has more hail reports within 10 miles than 99% of the 323 Alabama cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Madison
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 19 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 13 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 Madison: 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 Madison
By decade
- 2020s36(2 EF3+)
- 2010s56(5 EF3+)
- 2000s53(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16(2 EF3+)
- 1980s11(3 EF3+)
- 1970s16(6 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s10(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF5 | 5 mi | 132 mi | 72 / 145 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 20 mi | 79.5 mi | 28 / 272 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 6 mi | 52 mi | 28 / 267 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 11 mi | 83.3 mi | 16 / 190 |
| Nov 15, 1989 | F4 | 7 mi | 18.5 mi | 21 / 463 |
| Apr 24, 1955 | F4 | 25 mi | 8.6 mi | 5 / 20 |
| Feb 6, 2008 | EF4 | 20 mi | 16.7 mi | 4 / 23 |
| Mar 22, 1952 | F4 | 4 mi | 21.6 mi | 4 / 50 |
| May 18, 1995 | F4 | 8 mi | 39 mi | 1 / 55 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF3 | 24 mi | 26.76 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF3 | 14 mi | 15.56 mi | 2 / 30 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 7 mi | 46.5 mi | 2 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 204, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Madison
The Storm Prediction Center has 251 hail reports within 10 miles of Madison since 1955, made on 112 separate days. Of these, 158 were 1 inch across or larger, and 21 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, 78.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Madison
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Huntsville International Airport, AL, 5 miles south of Madison 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%). Harvest, 8 miles north, has its own station (Belle Mina 2 N, AL): 54.6 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 89°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 Madison
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 591 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Madison: 437 thunderstorm wind reports, 92 flash floods, 28 lightning strikes, 21 floods and 13 heavy rain events. They killed 3 people and injured 23, and the NWS estimated $5.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on October 13, 2014. July has had the most flash floods, 21 of 92. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 314 have had fewer than Madison.
June 29, 2008: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Madison — 1 killed, 12 injured, $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “A non-severe thunderstorm produced a microburst as it was dissipating at the Huntsville International Airport during an air show. Several tents were damaged and destroyed by the thunderstorm winds.”
July 14, 2016: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Madison — 1 killed, 3 injured.
August 21, 2010: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Madison — 1 killed.
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 Madison's 3 ZIP codes have filed 48 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $737,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 19% 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, 67 have fewer than Madison.
Madison County, which includes Madison, 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).
Madison in the notable storm records: The April 27, 2011 EF5 Tornado in Alabama, near Madison
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Madison
- Harvest, AL8 mi
- Huntsville, AL9 mi
- Toney, AL14 mi
- Athens, AL14 mi
- Laceys Spring, AL15 mi
- Brownsboro, AL15 mi
- Somerville, AL15 mi
- Decatur, AL15 mi
- Meridianville, AL16 mi
- Owens Cross Roads, AL17 mi
- Ardmore, AL19 mi
- Hazel Green, AL19 mi
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