NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit York, 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
30 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of York, Alabama since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 29
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
20 deaths in all
What the records show for York
The strongest storm to pass near York was Zeta in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 22 miles away. The record near York begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020. The 1910s and the 1930s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 30 systems, 5 have come since 2000. York has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 63% of the 323 Alabama cities on this site. The highest rating among the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 12 miles. Of the 86, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 60 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on April 6, 2025. Of the 323 Alabama cities, 88% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than York. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 72 times since 1975, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). York has more hail reports within 10 miles than 63% of the 323 Alabama cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near York
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 22 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2017 | NateOct 8 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | LeeSep 5 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2004 | IvanSep 16 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | ErinAug 4 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1971 | EdithSep 17 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormSep 5 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 14 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormAug 1 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 16 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 14 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 27 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 8 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 12 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormSep 1 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 16 | overhead | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 17 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 26 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in York: 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 York
By decade
- 2020s25
- 2010s24(3 EF3+)
- 2000s11
- 1990s8(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 12 mi | 122.04 mi | 7 / 17 |
| May 1, 1953 | F4 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 2 / 3 |
| Mar 12, 1986 | F4 | 23 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Mar 29, 1976 | F4 | 23 mi | 126.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 15 mi | 72.13 mi | 7 / 50 |
| Mar 10, 1992 | F3 | 17 mi | 20 mi | 3 / 57 |
| Dec 16, 2019 | EF3 | 21 mi | 61.19 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 18, 1967 | F3 | 8 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 3, 2022 | EF2 | 20 mi | 25.87 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Apr 6, 2025 | EF2 | 17 mi | 5.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | EF2 | 4 mi | 3.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF2 | 17 mi | 12.87 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in York
The Storm Prediction Center has 72 hail reports within 10 miles of York since 1975, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on March 26, 2023. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. March has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in York
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Meridian Naas, MS, 18 miles west of York at 271 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 58°F and 37°F. March and April are the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 54.9 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 44% of the year's precipitation (24.2 of 54.9 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 30 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (16); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 2.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 85 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 44 nights a year. That 54.9 inches is more than at 20 of the 107 Alabama stations used on this site (19%). Livingston, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (Demopolis L&D, AL): 56.6 inches a year, 1.7 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 37 | 5.2 | 7 |
| Feb | 63 | 40 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Mar | 71 | 46 | 5.6 | 7 |
| Apr | 78 | 53 | 5.6 | 6 |
| May | 85 | 62 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Jun | 91 | 69 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Jul | 93 | 72 | 5.3 | 8 |
| Aug | 93 | 71 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Sep | 89 | 66 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Oct | 79 | 54 | 3.9 | 4 |
| Nov | 68 | 43 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Dec | 61 | 40 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Year | 77 | 54 | 54.9 | 77 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Meridian Naas, MS (271 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 York
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 87 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of York: 83 thunderstorm wind reports and 4 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $317,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on August 15, 2010.
April 3, 2017: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of York — 1 injured.
NWS: “Tree fell onto vehicle causing injury to driver.”
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
Sumter County, which includes York, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 hurricanes, 4 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 Sumter County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.9 million a year, the 47th highest of 67 Alabama counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.4 million (44%), 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.
Cities near York
- Livingston, AL10 mi
- Lauderdale, MS15 mi
- Toomsuba, MS16 mi
- Demopolis, AL25 mi
- Meridian, MS26 mi
- Bailey, MS27 mi
- Butler, AL27 mi
- Gallion, AL30 mi
- De Kalb, MS31 mi
- Linden, AL31 mi
- Collinsville, MS35 mi
- Eutaw, AL36 mi
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