44
Recorded events
39
Direct deaths
272
Direct injuries
$236.9M
Property damage
Tornado in St. Clair County, Alabama: 44 recorded events between 1964 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #513 nationally and #29 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in St. Clair County, Alabama: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in St. Clair County is the 2000s, when 14 of the county's 44 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 St. Clair County archive, tornado makes up 9.4% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #513 for this hazard and #29 within Alabama, putting it in the 82.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for tornado in St. Clair County with 11 recorded events, while Jun 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-27 | EF4 | 97.3 mi | 1,760 yd | Crossed in |
| 1994-03-27 | EF4 | 50.0 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 2012-01-23 | EF3 | 15.7 mi | 800 yd | Crossed in |
| 1977-04-04 | EF3 | 7.3 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1975-01-10 | EF3 | 18.8 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-27 | EF3 | 41.6 mi | 800 yd | Crossed in |
| 2021-03-25 | EF3 | 50.1 mi | 1,140 yd | Crossed in |
| 1998-04-08 | EF2 | 14.4 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2018-03-19 | EF2 | 15.7 mi | 2,000 yd | Touched down here |
| 2014-04-28 | EF2 | 14.6 mi | 1,300 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 1994 | Ragland to 5 NE Rock | F4 | 22 | 150 | $500K |
| Apr 27, 2011 | SANIE | EF4 | 13 | 30 | $200.0M |
| Apr 9, 1998 | MOODY | F2 | 2 | 12 | $2.0M |
| Jan 10, 1975 | F3 | 1 | 60 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 4, 1977 | F3 | 1 | 0 | $250K | |
| Feb 4, 1990 | F1 | 0 | 11 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 27, 2011 | BRANCHVILLE | EF2 | 0 | 5 | $865K |
| Nov 24, 2001 | PELL CITY | F2 | 0 | 2 | $500K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 29, 2024 | EDEN | EF1 | $0 |
| Dec 29, 2024 | NEW LONDON | EF0 | $0 |
| Feb 18, 2022 | MOODY | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 25, 2021 | NEW LONDON | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 14, 2019 | ST CLAIR SPGS | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 14, 2019 | WHITNEY | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 20, 2018 | GREENSPORT | EF2 | $0 |
| Mar 20, 2018 | CALDWELL | EF1 | $0 |
| Jan 19, 2017 | LOGAN MARTIN RES | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 29, 2014 | SPRINGVILLE | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from St. Clair County
- Thunderstorm Wind 272
- Hail 113
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado began 2.3 miles north-northeast of Moody and just west of US 411. The tornado crossed US 411 where a large church and associated buildings, some recently constructed were destroyed. The tornado traveled on an east-northeast track moving through relatively rural areas. It affected a portion of CR 174 and then crossed US 231 just south of Wattsville. The tornado damaged a number of buildings in the Coal City area including a mobile home where two people were killed and three children were injured. The tornado ended in an open area just east of Coal City. Emergency Management for St. Clair County reported that 26 homes were destroyed, 30 homes suffered major damage, and 59 sustained minor damage. This included 42 mobile homes.
A tornado developed along a Quasi-Linear Convective System. It touched down in central St Clair County, near Odenville. The tornado touched down in a field southwest of the intersection of AL Hwy 174 and Blair Farms Rd. As it moved northeast, it quickly strengthened to an EF2 rating with winds of 120 mph and caused significant damage to two multi-story brick homes, along AL Hwy 174. One house lost a large portion of its roof deck material. The well built detached garage of the other house was shifted off its foundation, with the intact roof landing and squashing the remaining structure. The tornado continued northeast and tracked parallel to US Hwy 411, before it lifted near the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and Cedar Ln, where a few trees were blown down.
A tornado rated an F2 began weakly on the west-southwest side of Pell City just behind the school at 3:10 pm. The tornado traveled on an east-northeast path downing a communication tower at the EMA/911 office and doing minor roof damage. The storm then crossed over downtown Pell City where a number of buildings sustained light to moderate roof damage along with awnings damaged and some windows broken. The tornado crossed US 231 and became very weak, possibly lifting for a little more than a mile, before slamming into a number of buildings in an industrial park. Some of the greatest destruction was done here. The tornado crossed Interstate 20 and ended after damaging a couple of houses on Sprayberry Road at approximately 3:17 pm.The tornado path was 4.5 miles long and approximately 100 yards wide at the widest. No deaths occurred in this tornado but there were two injuries, both classified as minor.Beginning: 33 34.926/86 17.647 Ending: 33 37.039/86 14.029
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in St. Clair County, Alabama?
44 tornado events are recorded in St. Clair County between 1964 and 2024, causing 39 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in St. Clair County?
The strongest tornado on record in St. Clair County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for St. Clair 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 St. Clair County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/st-clair-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.