127
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
53
Direct injuries
$7.1M
Property damage
Tornado in Mobile County, Alabama: 127 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #16 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Mobile County, Alabama: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Mobile County is the 2020s, when 39 of the county's 127 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 Mobile County archive, tornado makes up 11.3% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #16 for this hazard and #1 within Alabama, putting it in the 99.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Mar is the peak month for tornado in Mobile County with 19 recorded events, while Feb 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-11-21 | EF3 | 1.0 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-04-25 | EF3 | 1.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1968-11-03 | EF3 | 70.4 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1950-04-18 | EF3 | 14.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2023-01-12 | EF2 | 11.7 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2012-12-25 | EF2 | 5.2 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2011-03-09 | EF2 | 0.9 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2000-11-06 | EF2 | 1.5 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 1980-05-19 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-16 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 77 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26, 1996 | GULF CREST | F1 | 1 | 3 | $100K |
| Apr 18, 1950 | F3 | 0 | 15 | $25K | |
| Nov 3, 1968 | F3 | 0 | 14 | $250K | |
| Mar 9, 2011 | THEODORE | EF2 | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Apr 1, 1957 | F1 | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Aug 30, 2021 | SARALAND | EF1 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Nov 7, 2000 | IRVINGTON | F2 | 0 | 2 | $100K |
| Mar 18, 1953 | F2 | 0 | 2 | $3K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 11, 2026 | IRVINGTON | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | GRAND BAY | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | THEODORE IDLE HOUR A | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | HATTERS | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | GEORGETOWN | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | GEORGETOWN | EF0 | $0 |
| May 29, 2025 | ORCHARD | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2025 | CITRONELLE | EF1 | $0 |
| Dec 29, 2024 | MON LOUIS | EF0 | $0 |
| Dec 28, 2024 | SPRING HILL | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Mobile County
- Thunderstorm Wind 473
- Hail 242
- Flash Flood 173
- Lightning 63
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An F3 tornado touched down just east of I-65 in Saraland near Shelton Beach Estates. The tornado skipped east northeast along the ground before lifting back into the cloud near U S Highway 43. Three homes were almost completely gone, three more suffered major damage and about sixty homes in the middle-class neighbourhood suffered some damage. Most of the damage was consistent with an F1 or F2 tornado. No one was injured. Several people knew they were under a tornado warning and were able to take cover before the storm struck. Most of the residents said they did not hear the familiar "Freight Train Sound" before the tornado struck.
A brief tornado developed along a squall line of thunderstorms moving across east central Mobile county, producing significant damage to 3 large storage warehouses, various outbuildings and numerous automobiles at the Evonik chemical processing plant on Degussa Road near the Theodore Industrial Canal. Approximately 30 employee automobiles had the windows broken from flying debris.
It was found from a National Weather Service Storm Survey that a F1 tornado struck near downtown Mobile. The tornado's path length was approximately 1 mile long and touched down near I -165, passing through the State Docks area. Some roof damage to apartments occurred near I-165. The storm then moved through the State Docks area, where four buildings suffered major damage. Some ship containers were also turned over. No injuries were reported, but several birds were killed.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Mobile County, Alabama?
127 tornado events are recorded in Mobile County between 1950 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Mobile County?
The strongest tornado on record in Mobile County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Mobile 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
“Tornado in Mobile County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/mobile-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.