NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Thomasville, 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
36 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Thomasville, Alabama since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 65 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 33
- Tornadoes
- 65
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Thomasville
The strongest storm to pass near Thomasville was Frederic in 1979, a Category 1 hurricane with 84 mph winds when its centre passed 52 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Zeta in 2020, whose centre came within 24 miles. The record near Thomasville begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 5 systems. Of the 36 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Thomasville has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The strongest of the 65 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on March 1, 2007; its path came within 25 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF3 on April 15, 2011, killed 1 person. Of the 65, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 43 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on April 6, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 97% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Thomasville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 26 times since 1984, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 323 Alabama cities, 86% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Thomasville.
Compare Thomasville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Thomasville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 24 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | SallySep 16 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2017 | NateOct 8 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | LeeSep 5 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | DennisJul 11 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2004 | IvanSep 16 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2001 | AllisonJun 11 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 70 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | ErinAug 4 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1985 | JuanOct 31 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 52 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 14 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormJun 16 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormAug 1 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 16 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormJun 26 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1919 | Unnamed 1919 stormJul 4 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 14 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormAug 3 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1895 | Unnamed 1895 stormAug 17 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 12 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormOct 19 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormSep 1 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 16 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 16 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormAug 12 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 17 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 26 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Thomasville: 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 Thomasville
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s17(1 EF3+)
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s5
- 1980s8
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2007 | EF4 | 25 mi | 6.08 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Apr 15, 2011 | EF3 | 22 mi | 15.33 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Mar 2, 1971 | F3 | 2 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 12, 2025 | EF2 | 14 mi | 11.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 2023 | EF2 | 20 mi | 5.77 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 2022 | EF2 | 17 mi | 9.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 30, 2022 | EF2 | 18 mi | 37.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF2 | 19 mi | 9.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 17, 2021 | EF2 | 14 mi | 36.59 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jan 21, 2017 | EF2 | 16 mi | 20.42 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Dec 25, 2012 | EF2 | 15 mi | 24.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2011 | EF2 | 18 mi | 38.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 65, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Thomasville
The Storm Prediction Center has 26 hail reports within 10 miles of Thomasville since 1984, made on 20 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 24, 2021. The most recent report is from March 26, 2023. April has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Thomasville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Thomasville, AL, 3 miles southeast of Thomasville at 390 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 59°F and 37°F. July is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and April and October the driest at 4.0 inches; the year adds up to 57.7 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (28.5 of 57.7 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 36 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (12); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 75 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 41 nights a year. That 57.7 inches is more than at 57 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (53%). Grove Hill, 16 miles south, has its own station (Whatley, AL): 61.4 inches a year, 3.7 more than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 37 | 5.5 | 8 |
| Feb | 63 | 40 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Mar | 71 | 47 | 5.7 | 7 |
| Apr | 78 | 53 | 4.0 | 5 |
| May | 85 | 62 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Jun | 90 | 69 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Jul | 92 | 72 | 6.0 | 8 |
| Aug | 92 | 71 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Sep | 88 | 66 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Oct | 79 | 55 | 4.0 | 4 |
| Nov | 69 | 45 | 4.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 61 | 39 | 5.3 | 6 |
| Year | 77 | 55 | 57.7 | 76 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Thomasville, AL (390 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 Thomasville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 99 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Thomasville: 80 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on May 29, 2012. February has had the most flash floods, 3 of 15. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 183 have had fewer than Thomasville.
April 14, 2018: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Thomasville — 1 injured, $1.2 million damage.
NWS: “Five to nine inches of rain fell in a short duration along and east and west of the Highway 43 corridor from Thomasville to southwest of Grove Hill. At the height of the flash flood event, Highway 43 near Bassett Creek was covered in 6 feet of water.”
June 18, 2023: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Thomasville — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “A house sustained significant damage from a lightning strike. Two automobiles were heavily damaged.”
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
Clarke County, which includes Thomasville, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Zeta, on December 10, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Clarke County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hail and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.3 million a year, the 39th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.4 million (41%), 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 Thomasville
- Pine Hill, AL13 mi
- Grove Hill, AL16 mi
- Linden, AL25 mi
- Butler, AL29 mi
- Jackson, AL30 mi
- Camden, AL30 mi
- Gallion, AL36 mi
- Uniontown, AL38 mi
- Demopolis, AL39 mi
- Monroeville, AL39 mi
- Millry, AL40 mi
- Frisco City, AL41 mi
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