Skip to content

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Satsuma, 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

69 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Satsuma, Alabama since 1851, 20 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 140 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
20

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
49

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
140

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

1 deaths in all

What the records show for Satsuma

The strongest storm to pass near Satsuma was Elena in 1985, a Category 3 hurricane with 116 mph winds when its centre passed 58 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1860, whose centre came within 7 miles. The record near Satsuma begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane 58 miles away. The 1930s and the 2000s were the busiest decades, with 7 systems each. Of the 69 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Satsuma has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 92% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The highest rating among the 140 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on November 21, 1997, came within 3 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on January 26, 1996, killed 1 person. Of the 140, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 68 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on May 29, 2025. Satsuma has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 323 Alabama cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 34 times since 1963, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 323 Alabama cities, 76% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Satsuma.

Compare Satsuma's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Satsuma

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Satsuma, Alabama, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020ZetaOct 2958 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 3
2020SallySep 1636 miCategory 1 (93 mph)Category 2
2018GordonSep 540 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
2017NateOct 835 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
2011LeeSep 546 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2009IdaNov 1037 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 2
2005DennisJul 1038 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 4
2005CindyJul 635 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
2005ArleneJun 1130 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
2004IvanSep 1616 miCategory 2 (100 mph)Category 5
2002HannaSep 1438 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
2001AllisonJun 1123 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1998GeorgesSep 2927 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
1997DannyJul 1933 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1995OpalOct 466 miCategory 2 (108 mph)Category 4
1995ErinAug 39 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 2
1985JuanOct 3134 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
1985ElenaSep 258 miCategory 3 (116 mph)Category 3
1979FredericSep 1326 miCategory 3 (110 mph)Category 4
1969Unnamed 1969 stormOct 174 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1965Unnamed 1965 stormJun 1571 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1964HildaOct 421 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 4
1960EthelSep 1659 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 3
1959IreneOct 832 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1956FlossySep 2471 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 1
1950BakerAug 319 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 2
1948Unnamed 1948 stormJul 959 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 834 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 117 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1939Unnamed 1939 stormSep 2640 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1939Unnamed 1939 stormAug 1349 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 1
1939Unnamed 1939 stormJun 168 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1936Unnamed 1936 stormJul 3157 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormOct 651 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormOct 1651 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 123 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1
1926Unnamed 1926 stormSep 2139 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 4
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1857 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1923Unnamed 1923 stormJun 265 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1919Unnamed 1919 stormJul 449 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormOct 1843 miCategory 2 (99 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 531 miCategory 2 (101 mph)Category 3
1914Unnamed 1914 stormSep 1836 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1912Unnamed 1912 stormSep 1426 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1911Unnamed 1911 stormAug 1222 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormSep 2242 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1906Unnamed 1906 stormSep 2745 miCategory 2 (99 mph)Category 3
1902Unnamed 1902 stormOct 1057 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 2
1901Unnamed 1901 stormAug 1618 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1341 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1898Unnamed 1898 stormAug 367 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1895Unnamed 1895 stormAug 1628 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormAug 83 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 210 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 4
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 1245 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2343 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 2
1887Unnamed 1887 stormOct 19overheadTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1887Unnamed 1887 stormJun 1459 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1885Unnamed 1885 stormSep 2818 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1881Unnamed 1881 stormAug 320 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1880Unnamed 1880 stormAug 3137 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 2
1879Unnamed 1879 stormOct 1664 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1877Unnamed 1877 stormSep 1957 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormJul 1156 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1860Unnamed 1860 stormSep 1555 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 2
1860Unnamed 1860 stormAug 127 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 3
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1619 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1855Unnamed 1855 stormSep 1662 miCategory 1 (78 mph)Category 3
1852Unnamed 1852 stormAug 2614 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 3

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

By decade

  • 2020s37
  • 2010s15
  • 2000s16
  • 1990s10(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s18
  • 1970s27(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s10(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s7(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Satsuma, Alabama
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Nov 21, 1997F33 mi1 mi0 / 0
Mar 27, 1976F324 mi13.9 mi0 / 0
Nov 3, 1968F34 mi70.4 mi0 / 18
Apr 18, 1950F33 mi14 mi0 / 15
Jan 12, 2023EF213 mi11.65 mi0 / 0
Dec 25, 2012EF28 mi5.15 mi0 / 0
Mar 9, 2011EF222 mi0.91 mi0 / 4
Jul 2, 1989F225 mi1 mi0 / 0
Feb 10, 1981F216 mi1.5 mi0 / 62
May 19, 1980F218 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Apr 13, 1980F216 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jun 16, 1977F23 mi0.1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 140, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Satsuma

The Storm Prediction Center has 34 hail reports within 10 miles of Satsuma since 1963, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently April 25, 2003. The most recent report is from June 27, 2019. March and May have the most reports, 8 each.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Satsuma

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mobile Dwtn Airport, AL, 16 miles south of Satsuma 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 69 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (27); 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%). Saraland, 3 miles southwest, 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, 11 miles south, 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, 11 miles from Satsuma, 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.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Mobile Dwtn Airport, AL
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Water °F
Jan62435.2653
Feb66463.8555
Mar72525.1562
Apr78594.9569
May85664.4577
Jun90735.8883
Jul92756.6986
Aug92757.1988
Sep89724.5684
Oct81613.8477
Nov72504.1468
Dec64455.3760
Year796060.67272

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.

Alabama weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Satsuma

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 45 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Satsuma: 33 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $6.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 101 mph, on January 26, 1996. May has had the most flash floods, 3 of 8. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 93 have had fewer than Satsuma.

  • August 7, 2010: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Satsuma — 1 killed.

    NWS: “A Semmes, Alabama man was killed by a lightning strike as he and his wife were heading in from a day of boating on the Tensaw River just west of Bay Minette, Alabama.”

  • June 16, 2019: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Satsuma — 1 killed.

  • April 29, 2014: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Satsuma — $6.5 million damage.

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 Satsuma's ZIP code 36572 have filed 110 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1980: 17 claims (15% of all) and $169,000. 33% 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, 87 have fewer than Satsuma.

Flood insurance claims in Satsuma by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Flooding198017$169,000

Mobile County, which includes Satsuma, 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.

Cities near Satsuma