NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Prichard, 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
70 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Prichard, Alabama since 1851, 22 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 161 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 22
- Tropical storms
- 48
- Tornadoes
- 161
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Prichard
The strongest storm to pass near Prichard was Elena in 1985, a Category 3 hurricane with 116 mph winds when its centre passed 50 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Baker in 1950, whose centre came within 11 miles. The record near Prichard begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane 61 miles away. Of the 70 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Prichard has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 93% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The highest rating among the 161 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on November 21, 1997, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on January 26, 1996, killed 1 person. Of the 161, 19 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 81 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on May 29, 2025. Prichard has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 74% of the 323 Alabama cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 72 times since 1963, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Prichard has more hail reports within 10 miles than 63% of the 323 Alabama cities.
Compare Prichard's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Prichard
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 61 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | SallySep 16 | 33 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2018 | GordonSep 5 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2017 | NateOct 8 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | LeeSep 5 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2009 | IdaNov 10 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2005 | DennisJul 10 | 43 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2005 | CindyJul 6 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2005 | ArleneJun 11 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2004 | IvanSep 16 | 16 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2002 | HannaSep 14 | overhead | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2001 | AllisonJun 11 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1998 | GeorgesSep 29 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1997 | DannyJul 19 | 26 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 4 | 65 mi | Category 3 (112 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | ErinAug 3 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1985 | JuanOct 31 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 2 | 50 mi | Category 3 (116 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 22 mi | Category 3 (113 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | HildaOct 4 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | EthelSep 16 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1959 | IreneOct 8 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1956 | FlossySep 24 | 64 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1955 | Unnamed 1955 stormAug 27 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 11 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormJul 9 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 8 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormSep 11 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormSep 26 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 13 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormJun 16 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormJul 31 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormOct 6 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 16 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1 | 18 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormSep 21 | 30 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormJun 26 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1919 | Unnamed 1919 stormJul 4 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1917 | Unnamed 1917 stormSep 28 | 73 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 43 mi | Category 2 (102 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 5 | 27 mi | Category 2 (107 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1914 | Unnamed 1914 stormSep 18 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 14 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1911 | Unnamed 1911 stormAug 12 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 21 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 27 | 41 mi | Category 2 (102 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 10 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 15 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 13 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormAug 3 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1895 | Unnamed 1895 stormAug 16 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormAug 8 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 2 | 15 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 12 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 23 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormOct 19 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJun 14 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormSep 28 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 3 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormAug 31 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 16 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormSep 19 | 50 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormJul 11 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 15 | 57 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormAug 12 | 13 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 16 | 63 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 26 | 17 mi | Category 1 (93 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Prichard: 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 Prichard
By decade
- 2020s43
- 2010s15
- 2000s23
- 1990s13(1 EF3+)
- 1980s20
- 1970s28
- 1960s12(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 1997 | F3 | 6 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 3, 1968 | F3 | 3 mi | 70.4 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Apr 18, 1950 | F3 | 4 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF2 | 21 mi | 11.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 25, 2012 | EF2 | 1 mi | 5.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 9, 2011 | EF2 | 24 mi | 2.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 9, 2011 | EF2 | 14 mi | 0.91 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 6, 2000 | F2 | 19 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 2, 1989 | F2 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 10, 1981 | F2 | 20 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 62 |
| May 19, 1980 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 1980 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 161, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Prichard
The Storm Prediction Center has 72 hail reports within 10 miles of Prichard since 1963, made on 63 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on May 8, 1985. The most recent report is from June 16, 2023. May has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Prichard
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mobile Dwtn Airport, AL, 8 miles south of Prichard at 26 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 62°F and 43°F. August is the wettest at 7.1 inches of precipitation on average and February and October the driest at 3.8 inches; the year adds up to 60.6 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (31.9 of 60.6 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 70 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (28); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 4.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 73 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 15 nights a year. That 60.6 inches is more than at 86 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (80%). Eight Mile, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Mobile, AL): 67.3 inches a year, 6.7 more than here, and an August average high of 91°F against 92°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Mobile State Docks, AL, 3 miles southeast, averaged 88°F in August and 53°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from June to September. Sea level at the Mobile State Docks tide gauge, 3 miles from Prichard, has risen 1.82 ± 0.24 inches per decade from 1980 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 18.2 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 113 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 62 | 43 | 5.2 | 6 | 53 |
| Feb | 66 | 46 | 3.8 | 5 | 55 |
| Mar | 72 | 52 | 5.1 | 5 | 62 |
| Apr | 78 | 59 | 4.9 | 5 | 69 |
| May | 85 | 66 | 4.4 | 5 | 77 |
| Jun | 90 | 73 | 5.8 | 8 | 83 |
| Jul | 92 | 75 | 6.6 | 9 | 86 |
| Aug | 92 | 75 | 7.1 | 9 | 88 |
| Sep | 89 | 72 | 4.5 | 6 | 84 |
| Oct | 81 | 61 | 3.8 | 4 | 77 |
| Nov | 72 | 50 | 4.1 | 4 | 68 |
| Dec | 64 | 45 | 5.3 | 7 | 60 |
| Year | 79 | 60 | 60.6 | 72 | 72 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mobile Dwtn Airport, AL (26 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Mobile State Docks, AL, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Prichard
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 222 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Prichard: 139 thunderstorm wind reports, 66 flash floods, 10 lightning strikes, 5 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $39.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on July 16, 2000. August has had the most flash floods, 13 of 66. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 301 have had fewer than Prichard.
April 29, 2014: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Prichard — 1 killed, 1 injured, $27.0 million damage.
June 16, 2019: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Prichard — 1 killed.
NWS: “A 59 year old man was struck by lightning while he was climbing a ladder to perform repairs on the roof of a home. He was on life support for a few weeks, but was unable to recover from his injuries and passed away.”
July 3, 2007: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Prichard — 8 injured, $3.5 million damage.
NWS: “Eye witness interviews, archived radar data, photographic evidence and media reports indicate that a thunderstorm downburst with peak winds of 70 mph, accompanied by a gustnado along the leading edge of the gustfront, was the cause of the damage that occurred in the vicinity of the I-65 and Dauphin Street interchange…”
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 Prichard's ZIP code 36610 have filed 221 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $3.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1981: 73 claims (33% of all) and $406,000, then Hurricane Katrina in 2005 with 37 and Hurricane Georges in 1998 with 19. The year with the most claims was 1998, with 56. 79% 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, 99 have fewer than Prichard.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1981 | 73 | $406,000 |
| Hurricane Katrina2005 | 37 | $2.1 million |
| Hurricane Georges1998 | 19 | $196,000 |
| Hurricane Ivan2004 | 14 | $156,000 |
| Hurricane Danny1997 | 12 | $206,000 |
Mobile County, which includes Prichard, has been named in 41 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 26 hurricanes, 9 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on January 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Mobile County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding and coastal flooding; Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $298.2 million a year, the highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $178.2 million (60%), is from hurricanes.
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.