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Chambers County, Alabama severe weather history spans 261 recorded events between 1965 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,040 nationally and #51 in Alabama.
261
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
16
Direct injuries
$6.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Chambers County, Alabama severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Chambers County, Alabama severe weather history averages 4.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 68 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 223 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Chambers County, Alabama record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $5.5M in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Chambers County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 127 | 0 | $960K | 65 | 1965–2026 |
| Hail | 86 | 0 | $90K | 2.75 | 1973–2023 |
| Tornado | 27 | 2 | $5.5M | F3 | 1970–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 20 | 0 | $125K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Chambers County, Alabama severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 touched down inside it and 8 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 | EF4 | 7 | 30 | 44.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-01-12 | EF3 | 7 | 16 | 82.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-03-19 | EF3 | 2 | 14 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-03-02 | EF2 | 1 | 4 | 34.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1989-03-05 | EF2 | 1 | 6 | 45.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-01-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-01-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-04-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-11-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Chambers County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 1970 | Tornado | 2 | 14 | $250K | |
| Mar 3, 2012 | Tornado | FORDYCE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down in central Elmore County, north of Wetumpka, and moved northeast through central Tallapoosa County and crossed into western Chambers County, west of Sikes, south of CR 48. The tornado tracked northeastward with winds of 150 mph, an EF3. One home was destroyed along CR 54. It gradually weakened and lifted northeast of the intersection of CR 51 and CR 66, 7 miles west northwest of Lafayette.
Thunderstorm wind was believed to be responsible for damage to four houses just off U.S. Highway 431 about three miles north of Lafayette in the Buffalo community. People reported a sound like a freight train when the damage occurred.
A barn was demolished, a roof blown off a porch, damage to two houses, and numerous trees blown down in Chambers County. The damage occurred in an area running west to east south of Highway 50 from about three miles east of the Highway 50/county line to the Chambers County Public Lake.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
34,192
Population (ACS)
$136K
Median home value
23
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 |
| May 21, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Chambers County, Alabama?
261 events are on record between 1965 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $6.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Chambers County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 127 recorded events — 48.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Chambers County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 18 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Chambers County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Chambers County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Chambers County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Chambers County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 47 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Chambers 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
- Calhoun County 477
- Cherokee County 385
- Butler County 218
- Chilton County 332
- Bullock County 149
- Choctaw County 327
Cite this page
“Chambers County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/chambers-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.