NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Oxford, 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
19 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Oxford, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 83 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 19
- Tornadoes
- 83
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
77 deaths in all
What the records show for Oxford
None of the 19 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Oxford; the strongest was Eloise in 1975, a tropical storm with 64 mph winds when its centre passed 24 miles away. The record near Oxford begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 15 miles away. The 1890s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 19 systems, one has come since 2000. Oxford has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 50% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The highest rating among the 83 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 21 miles. Of the 83, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on May 20, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Oxford. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 83 times since 1970, with stones up to 3.75 inches. Oxford has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 323 Alabama cities.
Compare Oxford's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Oxford
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | JuanNov 1 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 8 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 4 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 13 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 28 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 73 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 Oxford: 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 Oxford
By decade
- 2020s7(1 EF3+)
- 2010s6(2 EF3+)
- 2000s22
- 1990s8(1 EF3+)
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s9(2 EF3+)
- 1960s12(3 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 21 mi | 97.33 mi | 22 / 85 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F4 | 16 mi | 50 mi | 22 / 150 |
| May 27, 1973 | F4 | 6 mi | 139.1 mi | 7 / 199 |
| May 1, 1953 | F4 | 21 mi | 12.1 mi | 7 / 12 |
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF3 | 15 mi | 38.17 mi | 6 / 10 |
| Dec 3, 1983 | F3 | in town | 4 mi | 2 / 51 |
| Jan 10, 1975 | F3 | 21 mi | 18.8 mi | 1 / 60 |
| Mar 19, 2018 | EF3 | 17 mi | 35.22 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 28, 1964 | F3 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 21, 1962 | F3 | 11 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Dec 11, 1961 | F3 | 15 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 5, 1954 | F3 | 16 mi | 24.7 mi | 0 / 26 |
The strongest 12 of 83, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Oxford
The Storm Prediction Center has 83 hail reports within 10 miles of Oxford since 1970, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 55 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.75 inches, fell on April 5, 2017. The most recent report is from August 18, 2024. May has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Oxford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Anniston Metro Airport, AL, 1 mile west of Oxford at 594 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 34°F. March is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 52.2 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (23.5 of 52.2 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 19 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (7); a normal September there has highs of 85°F and 3.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 60 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 52 nights a year. That 52.2 inches is more than at 6 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (6%). Eastaboga, 9 miles west, has its own station (Talladega 10 NNE, AL): 52.1 inches a year, 0.1 less than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 34 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Feb | 59 | 37 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Mar | 67 | 44 | 5.4 | 8 |
| Apr | 75 | 51 | 4.4 | 7 |
| May | 82 | 60 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Jun | 88 | 67 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Jul | 90 | 71 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Aug | 90 | 70 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 85 | 64 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Oct | 76 | 52 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Nov | 65 | 41 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Dec | 57 | 37 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Year | 74 | 52 | 52.2 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Anniston Metro Airport, AL (594 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 Oxford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 110 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Oxford: 95 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 2 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on February 26, 2008. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 123 have had fewer than Oxford.
July 23, 2007: heavy rain event 9 miles from the centre of Oxford — 1 killed, 1 injured.
July 1, 2007: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Oxford — $500,000 damage.
February 26, 2008: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Oxford — $260,000 damage.
NWS: “Wind damage was widespread from near the Anniston/Oxford Airport, eastward to Douglas Drive and Glover Drive, southeast of Oxford. Most of the damage near the airport was in the form of snapped and uprooted trees and broken tree limbs.”
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 Oxford's ZIP code 36203 have filed 45 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $118,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 10. 29% 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, 65 have fewer than Oxford.
Calhoun County, which includes Oxford, 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.