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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Marion, AL

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

24 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Marion, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
24

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
114

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
11

29 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Marion

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Marion, Alabama, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020ZetaOct 2913 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
2017NateOct 850 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
2005DennisJul 1160 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2004IvanSep 163 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 5
1995OpalOct 556 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 4
1985JuanNov 128 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 1
1979FredericSep 1365 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 4
1950BakerAug 3144 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 2
1936Unnamed 1936 stormAug 163 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1932Unnamed 1932 stormOct 164 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormOct 183 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 844 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 3
1912Unnamed 1912 stormSep 1467 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1
1912Unnamed 1912 stormJun 147 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1907Unnamed 1907 stormSep 2223 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1901Unnamed 1901 stormAug 1656 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 1
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 359 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 1320 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1881Unnamed 1881 stormAug 2923 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1880Unnamed 1880 stormSep 169 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 2
1860Unnamed 1860 stormSep 1644 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 2
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1656 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1855Unnamed 1855 stormSep 1760 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1852Unnamed 1852 stormAug 2751 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 3

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Marion: 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 Marion

By decade

  • 2020s22(3 EF3+)
  • 2010s37(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s24
  • 1990s4(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s5(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Marion, Alabama
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 27, 2011EF416 mi122.04 mi7 / 17
May 27, 1973F45 mi139.1 mi7 / 199
Apr 27, 2011EF318 mi72.13 mi7 / 50
Mar 6, 1996F318 mi19 mi4 / 40
Mar 10, 1992F39 mi18 mi2 / 7
Dec 6, 1983F324 mi13 mi1 / 19
Mar 30, 2022EF314 mi29.24 mi0 / 2
Mar 25, 2021EF312 mi79.66 mi0 / 13
Mar 25, 2021EF323 mi11.11 mi0 / 0
Mar 17, 1963F321 mi2.7 mi0 / 4
Dec 11, 1961F31 mi9.4 mi0 / 2
Feb 3, 2022EF221 mi25.87 mi1 / 8

The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Marion while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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