NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wetumpka, 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
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Wetumpka, Alabama since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 148 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 24
- Tornadoes
- 148
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
28 deaths in all
What the records show for Wetumpka
The strongest storm to pass near Wetumpka was Eloise in 1975, a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds when its centre passed 23 miles away. The record near Wetumpka begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 59 miles away. Of the 25 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Wetumpka has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 63% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The strongest of the 148 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on April 27, 2011; its path came within 4 miles, and it killed 7 people. The deadliest, an EF3 on January 12, 2023, killed 7 people. Of the 148, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 101 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on February 16, 2025. Wetumpka has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 323 Alabama cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 56 times since 1966, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 323 Alabama cities, 50% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Wetumpka.
Compare Wetumpka's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wetumpka
Of the 25 tracks on the map, 11 were moving northeast as they passed Wetumpka, 8 north and 3 east. Eloise (1975), the strongest pass, was heading north; its centre passed 23 miles east of Wetumpka. None made landfall within 75 miles of Wetumpka; 21 of the 25 were hurricanes at their peak, 1 at their closest to the city. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025), 3 came near Wetumpka: 1.0 a decade, against 1.5 a decade from 1851 to 1995.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | SallySep 17 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2004 | IvanSep 16 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | JuanNov 1 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 23 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 16 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 15 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 8 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 4 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 13 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormAug 2 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 23 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormOct 20 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 28 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 28 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Wetumpka: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Check hail and hurricane history for any address
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Wetumpka
By decade
- 2020s32(1 EF3+)
- 2010s30(2 EF3+)
- 2000s39(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16(1 EF3+)
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10(2 EF3+)
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 4 mi | 44.18 mi | 7 / 30 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF3 | 10 mi | 82.31 mi | 7 / 16 |
| May 3, 1984 | F3 | 12 mi | 7 mi | 5 / 37 |
| Apr 15, 2011 | EF3 | 14 mi | 9.29 mi | 3 / 4 |
| Nov 17, 1968 | F3 | 21 mi | 32.3 mi | 1 / 24 |
| Feb 17, 2008 | EF3 | 10 mi | 14.65 mi | 0 / 50 |
| Mar 18, 1996 | F3 | 12 mi | 24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 25, 1979 | F3 | 3 mi | 10.2 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 8 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Nov 30, 2022 | EF2 | 6 mi | 9.85 mi | 2 / 2 |
| Mar 6, 1996 | F2 | 14 mi | 4 mi | 2 / 17 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 25 mi | 34.04 mi | 1 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 148, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wetumpka
The Storm Prediction Center has 56 hail reports within 10 miles of Wetumpka since 1966, made on 49 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 11, 2007. The most recent report is from May 9, 2024. April has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wetumpka
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Milstead, AL, 20 miles southeast of Wetumpka at 215 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 34°F. March is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 54.1 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (24.6 of 54.1 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 25 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 66 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 54 nights a year. That 54.1 inches is more than at 14 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (13%). Elmore, 8 miles west, has its own station (Montgomery Airport, AL): 51.3 inches a year, 2.8 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 34 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Feb | 61 | 36 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Mar | 68 | 42 | 5.3 | 6 |
| Apr | 75 | 49 | 4.6 | 5 |
| May | 83 | 59 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Jun | 88 | 66 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 90 | 70 | 5.0 | 7 |
| Aug | 90 | 69 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Sep | 86 | 64 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 77 | 52 | 3.1 | 3 |
| Nov | 67 | 41 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 59 | 36 | 5.1 | 6 |
| Year | 75 | 51 | 54.1 | 71 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Milstead, AL (215 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 Wetumpka
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 144 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wetumpka: 122 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes, 3 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $362,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on June 5, 2012. August has had the most flash floods, 3 of 13. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 162 have had fewer than Wetumpka.
July 5, 2009: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Wetumpka — 1 injured.
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 Wetumpka's 2 ZIP codes have filed 21 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $370,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 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, 29 have fewer than Wetumpka.
Elmore County, which includes Wetumpka, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1975, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 hurricanes, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on May 5, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Elmore County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $28.7 million a year, the 26th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.8 million (66%), 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.