46
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$2.6M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Choctaw County, Alabama: 46 recorded events between 1997 and 2023. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #681 nationally and #18 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Choctaw County, Alabama: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Choctaw County is the 2010s, when 17 of the county's 46 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Choctaw County archive, flash flood makes up 14.1% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #681 for this hazard and #18 within Alabama, putting it in the 77.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Mar is the peak month for flash flood in Choctaw County with 11 recorded events, while Oct is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2005 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 7, 1998 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $20K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 2023 | BUTLER | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 4, 2023 | LAND | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 4, 2023 | LAND | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 4, 2023 | LAND | 0 | $20K |
| Aug 24, 2022 | LAND | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 24, 2022 | GILBERTOWN | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2021 | TOXEY | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2021 | PENNINGTON | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 23, 2019 | BLADON SPGS | 0 | $25K |
| Dec 28, 2018 | GILBERTOWN | 0 | $700K |
Other hazards here
More from Choctaw County
- Thunderstorm Wind 171
- Hail 70
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Three to five inches of rain caused extensive flooding and road closures throughout the county. Most of the roads that had to be closed were secondary dirt roads. One death was attributed to the flooding. Two persons were driving along a county road six miles east of Gilbertown. Their automobile became stranded near a bridge across Okatuppa Creek. The rapidly rising current flowing across the road washed the automobile into the creek. One of the passengers was able to swim to shore and the other drowned.
Heavy rains caused several roads across Choctaw county to have standing water in them. Several roads had to be closed for more than an hour due to high water. Radar estimated that five to six inches of rain fell across the county between 630 and 900 AM. A male drowned during the heavy rain event just south of Pushmataha. The sixty-three year old male went to check on some property he used for a hunting camp. The male knew about the flooding and had driven across a bridge that was closed for construction. His truck was then washed off the road. He was able to get out of his truck and was walking along a road and tried to cross a flooded spot in the road. Evidently the water washed him off the road and his body was not found until three days later. Unfortunately, the man passed several locations where he could have escaped the flood waters, but for unknown reasons he chose to keep walking.
Major flash flooding occurred in the town of Gilbertown due to nearly 10 inches of rain that fell in a short duration. There were 10 businesses and 8 homes that experienced major flooding damage. Numerous wash outs also occurred on roads and bridges in and around Gilbertown.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Choctaw County, Alabama?
46 flash flood events are recorded in Choctaw County between 1997 and 2023, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Choctaw County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Choctaw County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Choctaw County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Choctaw County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/choctaw-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.