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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Whistler, 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 Whistler, Alabama since 1851, 22 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 168 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
22

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
48

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
168

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

1 deaths in all

What the records show for Whistler

The strongest storm to pass near Whistler 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 an unnamed storm in 1860, whose centre came within 11 miles. The record near Whistler begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane 59 miles away. Of the 70 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Whistler has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 93% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The highest rating among the 168 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on November 21, 1997, came within 5 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on January 26, 1996, killed 1 person. Of the 168, 19 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 87 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on May 29, 2025. Whistler has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 81% of the 323 Alabama cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 83 times since 1963, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Whistler has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 323 Alabama cities.

Compare Whistler's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Whistler

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Whistler, Alabama, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020ZetaOct 2959 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
2020SallySep 1635 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 2
2018GordonSep 533 miTropical storm (66 mph)Tropical storm
2017NateOct 835 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
2011LeeSep 550 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2009IdaNov 1031 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 2
2005DennisJul 1044 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 4
2005CindyJul 638 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1
2005ArleneJun 1134 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
2004IvanSep 1618 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 5
2002HannaSep 143 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
2001AllisonJun 1124 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1998GeorgesSep 299 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 4
1997DannyJul 1927 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1995OpalOct 467 miCategory 3 (112 mph)Category 4
1995ErinAug 317 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 2
1985JuanOct 3134 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1985ElenaSep 250 miCategory 3 (116 mph)Category 3
1979FredericSep 1320 miCategory 3 (113 mph)Category 4
1965Unnamed 1965 stormJun 1568 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1964HildaOct 413 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 4
1960EthelSep 1657 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 3
1959IreneOct 832 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1956FlossySep 2466 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 1
1955Unnamed 1955 stormAug 2772 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1950BakerAug 3113 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 2
1948Unnamed 1948 stormJul 957 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 827 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 113 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1939Unnamed 1939 stormSep 2642 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1939Unnamed 1939 stormAug 1357 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1939Unnamed 1939 stormJun 1614 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1936Unnamed 1936 stormJul 3164 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormOct 651 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormOct 1653 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 117 miCategory 1 (78 mph)Category 1
1926Unnamed 1926 stormSep 2131 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 4
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1854 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1923Unnamed 1923 stormJun 268 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1919Unnamed 1919 stormJul 455 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1917Unnamed 1917 stormSep 2875 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 4
1916Unnamed 1916 stormOct 1845 miCategory 2 (101 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 525 miCategory 2 (106 mph)Category 3
1914Unnamed 1914 stormSep 1830 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1912Unnamed 1912 stormSep 1422 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
1911Unnamed 1911 stormAug 1214 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormSep 2143 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1906Unnamed 1906 stormSep 2740 miCategory 2 (102 mph)Category 3
1902Unnamed 1902 stormOct 1057 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 2
1901Unnamed 1901 stormAug 1519 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 1
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1334 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1898Unnamed 1898 stormAug 375 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1895Unnamed 1895 stormAug 1627 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormAug 85 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 213 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 1246 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2340 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 2
1887Unnamed 1887 stormOct 194 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1887Unnamed 1887 stormJun 1452 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1885Unnamed 1885 stormSep 2711 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1881Unnamed 1881 stormAug 316 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1880Unnamed 1880 stormAug 3144 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 2
1879Unnamed 1879 stormOct 1670 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1877Unnamed 1877 stormSep 1952 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormJul 1153 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1860Unnamed 1860 stormSep 1555 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 2
1860Unnamed 1860 stormAug 1211 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 3
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1618 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 1
1855Unnamed 1855 stormSep 1661 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 3
1852Unnamed 1852 stormAug 2615 miCategory 1 (93 mph)Category 3

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

By decade

  • 2020s51
  • 2010s15
  • 2000s21
  • 1990s14(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s20
  • 1970s30(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s10(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s7(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Whistler, Alabama
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Nov 21, 1997F35 mi1 mi0 / 0
Mar 27, 1976F325 mi13.9 mi0 / 0
Nov 3, 1968F31 mi70.4 mi0 / 18
Apr 18, 1950F32 mi14 mi0 / 15
Jan 12, 2023EF219 mi11.65 mi0 / 0
Dec 25, 2012EF23 mi5.15 mi0 / 0
Mar 9, 2011EF214 mi0.91 mi0 / 4
Nov 6, 2000F219 mi1.5 mi0 / 2
Jul 2, 1989F218 mi1 mi0 / 0
Feb 10, 1981F222 mi1.5 mi0 / 62
May 19, 1980F211 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Apr 13, 1980F222 mi0.1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 168, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Whistler

The Storm Prediction Center has 83 hail reports within 10 miles of Whistler since 1963, made on 70 separate days. Of these, 46 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, 20.

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

Weather by month in Whistler

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mobile Dwtn Airport, AL, 9 miles south of Whistler 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, 4 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, 5 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, 5 miles from Whistler, 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 Whistler

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 235 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Whistler: 151 thunderstorm wind reports, 66 flash floods, 10 lightning strikes, 6 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $12.2 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, 12 of 66. Of the 321 Alabama cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 301 have had fewer than Whistler.

  • June 16, 2019: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Whistler — 1 killed.

  • July 3, 2007: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Whistler — 8 injured, $3.5 million damage.

  • June 27, 2007: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Whistler — 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 Whistler's ZIP code 36612 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $231,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 58% 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, 39 have fewer than Whistler.

Mobile County, which includes Whistler, 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 Whistler