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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Theodore, 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

72 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Theodore, Alabama since 1851, 27 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 197 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
27

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
45

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
197

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
5

1 deaths in all

What the records show for Theodore

The strongest storm to pass near Theodore was Camille in 1969, a Category 5 hurricane with 170 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1932, whose centre came within 8 miles. The record near Theodore begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane 66 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 8 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 72 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Theodore has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 97% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The highest rating among the 197 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 5 times; the most recent, on November 21, 1997, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on October 27, 2021, killed 1 person. Of the 197, 17 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 103 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on October 26, 2025. Theodore has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 98% of the 323 Alabama cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 56 times since 1965, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 323 Alabama cities, 50% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Theodore.

Compare Theodore's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Theodore

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Theodore, Alabama, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020ZetaOct 2966 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 3
2020SallySep 1632 miCategory 2 (106 mph)Category 2
2018GordonSep 521 miTropical storm (69 mph)Tropical storm
2017NateOct 839 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
2011LeeSep 562 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2009IdaNov 1019 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
2005DennisJul 1054 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 4
2005CindyJul 645 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 1
2005ArleneJun 1138 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
2004IvanSep 1619 miCategory 3 (110 mph)Category 5
2002HannaSep 144 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
2001AllisonJun 1135 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1998GeorgesSep 2914 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 4
1997DannyJul 1918 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1
1995OpalOct 465 miCategory 3 (116 mph)Category 4
1995ErinAug 330 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 2
1985JuanOct 3130 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
1985ElenaSep 235 miCategory 3 (116 mph)Category 3
1979FredericSep 1312 miCategory 3 (116 mph)Category 4
1969CamilleAug 1874 miCategory 5 (170 mph)Category 5
1965Unnamed 1965 stormJun 1559 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1964HildaOct 42 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 4
1960EthelSep 1547 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 3
1959IreneOct 834 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1956FlossySep 2454 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 1
1955Unnamed 1955 stormAug 2757 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1950BakerAug 3114 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 2
1948Unnamed 1948 stormJul 951 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 813 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 10overheadTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1939Unnamed 1939 stormSep 2649 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1939Unnamed 1939 stormAug 1369 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1939Unnamed 1939 stormJun 1624 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1936Unnamed 1936 stormJul 3175 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormOct 646 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormOct 1661 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 18 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 1
1926Unnamed 1926 stormSep 2116 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 4
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1850 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1923Unnamed 1923 stormJun 2616 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1919Unnamed 1919 stormJul 462 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1917Unnamed 1917 stormSep 2865 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 4
1916Unnamed 1916 stormOct 1847 miCategory 2 (108 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 516 miCategory 3 (117 mph)Category 3
1914Unnamed 1914 stormSep 1816 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1912Unnamed 1912 stormSep 1416 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
1911Unnamed 1911 stormAug 121 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormSep 2142 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1906Unnamed 1906 stormSep 2733 miCategory 2 (109 mph)Category 3
1904Unnamed 1904 stormNov 373 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1902Unnamed 1902 stormOct 1054 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1901Unnamed 1901 stormAug 1525 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1326 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1895Unnamed 1895 stormAug 1628 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormAug 820 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 221 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 4
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 1250 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2330 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 2
1887Unnamed 1887 stormOct 1914 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 1
1887Unnamed 1887 stormJun 1439 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1885Unnamed 1885 stormSep 275 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1885Unnamed 1885 stormAug 3074 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 973 miCategory 3 (127 mph)Category 3
1881Unnamed 1881 stormAug 311 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1880Unnamed 1880 stormAug 3158 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormSep 1938 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormJul 1149 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1860Unnamed 1860 stormSep 1558 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 2
1860Unnamed 1860 stormAug 1222 miCategory 1 (94 mph)Category 3
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1612 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1
1855Unnamed 1855 stormSep 1663 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 3
1852Unnamed 1852 stormAug 2619 miCategory 2 (101 mph)Category 3

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

By decade

  • 2020s51
  • 2010s22
  • 2000s30
  • 1990s17(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s23(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s30
  • 1960s17(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s7(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Theodore, Alabama
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Nov 21, 1997F321 mi1 mi0 / 0
Apr 25, 1982F320 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Nov 3, 1968F317 mi70.4 mi0 / 18
Apr 18, 1966F321 mi23.8 mi0 / 5
Apr 18, 1950F310 mi14 mi0 / 15
Jun 19, 2023EF223 mi2.35 mi0 / 6
Dec 25, 2012EF211 mi5.15 mi0 / 0
Mar 9, 2011EF224 mi2.05 mi0 / 0
Mar 9, 2011EF23 mi0.91 mi0 / 4
Nov 6, 2000F24 mi1.5 mi0 / 2
Jul 2, 1989F25 mi1 mi0 / 0
Apr 25, 1982F224 mi0.1 mi0 / 3

The strongest 12 of 197, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Theodore

The Storm Prediction Center has 56 hail reports within 10 miles of Theodore since 1965, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 4 days, most recently January 21, 2017. The most recent report is from June 19, 2023. June has the most reports, 14.

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

Weather by month in Theodore

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mobile Dwtn Airport, AL, 9 miles northeast of Theodore 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 72 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (29); 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%). Irvington, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Coden, AL): 69.0 inches a year, 8.4 more than here, and an August average high of 88°F against 92°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Coast Guard Sector Mobile, AL, 10 miles northeast, averaged 87°F in August and 56°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, 14 miles from Theodore, 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
Jan62435.2656
Feb66463.8558
Mar72525.1565
Apr78594.9571
May85664.4579
Jun90735.8884
Jul92756.6986
Aug92757.1987
Sep89724.5684
Oct81613.8476
Nov72504.1468
Dec64455.3761
Year796060.67273

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 Coast Guard Sector Mobile, 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 Theodore

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 149 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Theodore: 85 thunderstorm wind reports, 51 flash floods, 6 heavy rain events, 6 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $857,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 21, 2000. June has had the most flash floods, 20 of 51. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 285 have had fewer than Theodore.

  • August 18, 2008: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Theodore — 1 injured.

  • May 4, 2019: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Theodore — 1 injured.

    NWS: “High winds broke two large windows at Mobile Greyhound Park.”

  • January 21, 2017: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Theodore — $300,000 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 Theodore's ZIP code 36582 have filed 888 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $25.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Katrina in 2005: 309 claims (35% of all) and $17.3 million, then Hurricane Georges in 1998 with 194 and Hurricane Frederic in 1979 with 74. 83% 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, 112 have fewer than Theodore.

Flood insurance claims in Theodore by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Katrina2005309$17.3 million
Hurricane Georges1998194$3.3 million
Hurricane Frederic197974$710,000
Hurricane Danny199760$1.1 million
Hurricane Ivan200426$110,000
Tropical Storm Isidore200222$148,000

Mobile County, which includes Theodore, 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 Theodore