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Morgan County, Alabama severe weather history spans 1,097 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 61.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #106 nationally and #6 in Alabama.
1,097
Recorded events
15
Direct deaths
251
Direct injuries
$24.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Morgan County, Alabama severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Morgan County, Alabama severe weather history averages 14.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 336 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 98 events fall before 1990 and 999 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Morgan County, Alabama record is tornado, responsible for 14 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $14.5M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Morgan County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 670 | 1 | $5.0M | 96 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 198 | 0 | $204K | 4.25 | 1955–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 111 | 0 | $701K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 50 | 14 | $14.5M | F5 | 1952–2025 |
| Flood | 36 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 2009–2025 |
| Lightning | 25 | 0 | $3.4M | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2014 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Morgan County, Alabama severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
57 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 40 touched down inside it and 17 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-27 | EF5 | 72 | 145 | 132.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF5 | 28 | 272 | 79.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF5 | 28 | 267 | 52.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-27 | EF4 | 6 | 48 | 46.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-04-24 | EF4 | 5 | 20 | 8.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-02-06 | EF4 | 4 | 23 | 16.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1952-03-22 | EF4 | 4 | 50 | 21.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF3 | 2 | 7 | 46.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-08 | EF3 | 2 | 90 | 38.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-11-29 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Morgan County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 1955 | Tornado | 5 | 20 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 22, 1952 | Tornado | 4 | 50 | $25K | |
| Apr 8, 1957 | Tornado | 2 | 90 | $250 | |
| Dec 18, 1967 | Tornado | 2 | 0 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 25, 2023 | Tornado | DANVILLE ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 19, 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | BROOKSVILLE | 1 | 0 | $41K |
| Apr 3, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 56 | $0 | |
| May 13, 1978 | Tornado | 0 | 11 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Lightning struck a four story, 20,000 square foot house on Breeding Drive north of Hartselle. A mother and child were in the home at the time and escaped without injury, as the fire erupted and quickly spread throughout the house. Tragically, this house was burned to the ground. In addition, the blaze destroyed two antique cars.
Up to 7.12 inches of rain fell in Hartselle as reported by a CoCoRahs observer. Resulting runoff produced extensive stream and creek flooding in the Hartselle community. In many locations in the downtown area, water of 2 to 4 feet in depth was reported inundating businesses. Several roads were washed out in the Hartselle area, including Rice Road, Celia Drive, Rustic Lane, and a public street near Westwood Drive. Eighty tons of rocks were used to repair one lane on Celia Drive.||Many roads were washed out near area streams, creeks and some river branches. Over 1 million dollars worth of damage was estimated to have occurred by city officials. Also, in the Somerville area, flooding closed roads.
Lightning sparked a fire at the Bellview Baptist Church on Old Moulton Road. The fire destroyed the education building and fellowship hall. Lightning data from the NCDC Severe Weather Data Inventory correlated the location and time of the strike.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
124,471
Population (ACS)
$212K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| May 5, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Jan 15, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Sep 14, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SALLY | EM |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Decatur 169
- Hartselle 121
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Morgan County, Alabama?
1,097 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 15 direct deaths and $24.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Morgan County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 670 recorded events — 61.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Morgan County?
57 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 40 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Morgan County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Morgan County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Morgan County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Morgan County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 89 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Morgan County, Alabama severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Montgomery County 519
- Perry County 161
- Monroe County 295
- Pickens County 315
- Mobile County 1,121
- Pike County 244
Cite this page
“Morgan County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/morgan-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.