NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Piedmont, 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
14 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Piedmont, Alabama since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 80 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 14
- Tornadoes
- 80
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
58 deaths in all
What the records show for Piedmont
None of the 14 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Piedmont; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Piedmont 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 14 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 323 Alabama cities on this site, 64% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Piedmont. The highest rating among the 80 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 3 miles. Of the 80, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on May 20, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Piedmont. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 39 times since 1982, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 323 Alabama cities, 70% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Piedmont.
Compare Piedmont's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Piedmont
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | JuanNov 1 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 5 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 13 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 75 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 Piedmont: 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 Piedmont
By decade
- 2020s6(1 EF3+)
- 2010s11(3 EF3+)
- 2000s19(1 EF3+)
- 1990s12(4 EF3+)
- 1980s9(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s10(3 EF3+)
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 3 mi | 97.33 mi | 22 / 85 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F4 | in town | 50 mi | 22 / 150 |
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF3 | in town | 38.17 mi | 6 / 10 |
| Dec 3, 1983 | F3 | 24 mi | 4 mi | 2 / 51 |
| Feb 21, 1993 | F3 | 13 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 35 |
| Mar 19, 2018 | EF3 | 10 mi | 35.22 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 19 mi | 29.02 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Dec 16, 2000 | F3 | 14 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F3 | 19 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Feb 21, 1993 | F3 | 3 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 20.9 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Apr 28, 1964 | F3 | 19 mi | 15.7 mi | 0 / 10 |
The strongest 12 of 80, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Piedmont
The Storm Prediction Center has 39 hail reports within 10 miles of Piedmont since 1982, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 2, 2003. The most recent report is from April 24, 2021. April has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Piedmont
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Heflin, AL, 21 miles south of Piedmont 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 14 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%). Centre, 13 miles north, has its own station (Cedartown, GA): 52.8 inches a year, 4.8 less than here, and a July average high of 91°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 Piedmont
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 41 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Piedmont: 37 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $253,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 14, 2007.
April 27, 2011: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Piedmont — 1 injured, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong winds damaged a home on CR 6 near Gnatville, resulting in one injury.”
June 14, 2007: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Piedmont — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “In the Piedmont and Vigo areas of northern Calhoun County, one home had its roof completely blown off, one barn had its roof blown off, a few homes had shingle damage, one tree fell on a mobile home, and several more trees and power lines were blown down.”
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
Calhoun County, which includes Piedmont, 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.
Cities near Piedmont
- Jacksonville, AL12 mi
- Centre, AL13 mi
- Wellington, AL17 mi
- Weaver, AL18 mi
- Glencoe, AL19 mi
- Leesburg, AL19 mi
- Cave Spring, GA20 mi
- Cedar Bluff, AL20 mi
- Alexandria, AL20 mi
- Cedartown, GA21 mi
- Gadsden, AL21 mi
- Anniston, AL22 mi
All Alabama cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Piedmont with another place →