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Chilton County, Alabama severe weather history spans 332 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,594 nationally and #41 in Alabama.
332
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
41
Direct injuries
$5.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Chilton County, Alabama severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Chilton County, Alabama severe weather history averages 4.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 90 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 281 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Chilton County, Alabama record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.7M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Chilton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 167 | 0 | $736K | 73 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 93 | 0 | $236K | 3 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 44 | 1 | $4.7M | F3 | 1953–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 1 | $130K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 8 | 0 | $51K | 0 | 1997–2003 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 2001–2012 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2006 |
Decade by decade
Chilton County, Alabama severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
48 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 36 touched down inside it and 12 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-05-27 | EF4 | 7 | 199 | 139.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-03-15 | EF3 | 2 | 2 | 24.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-11-17 | EF3 | 1 | 24 | 32.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-25 | EF3 | 0 | 13 | 79.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-03-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-03-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 28.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-01-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 39.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-11-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 49.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-01-03 | EF2 | 0 | 12 | 8.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Chilton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 1968 | Tornado | 1 | 24 | $2.5M | |
| Feb 2, 1996 | Flash Flood | UNKNOWN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 3, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Jan 3, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Mar 7, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| May 1, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Apr 28, 2011 | Tornado | COOPER | 0 | 1 | $102K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Within a larger area of straight line wind damage, a short tornado damage path was found near and northeast of exit 205 on Interstate 65, southeast of the city of Clanton. The heaviest damage was sustained by a mobile home along County Road 41, where two large oak trees fell on the mobile home and demolished it. Several fast food restaurant signs and a couple of road signs were damaged or destroyed, and a couple hundred trees were also snapped off or uprooted.
The supercell continued on an almost eastward path through Chilton County. A swath of hail up to 3 inches in diameter was reported. The hail covered the ground in a few locations. The largest hail fell just northwest of Maplesville while most of the remainder of the county experienced hail up to 1.50 inches in diameter. Several trees were also blown down near Clanton and near Maplesville. Funnel clouds and a roaring sound were reported as the storm moved across the county.
A tornado briefly touched down near the intersection of US Hwy 31 and CR 24, just northwest of Verbena and uprooted a few oak trees. The tornado moved northeast, and crossed CR 597 where it damaged a metal carport of one single family home and the roof of a mobile home. In addition, many trees were knocked down in a 50 yd wide path. The tornado quickly dissipated along CR 59, south of CR 24. Damage along this path was consistent with an EF0 rating and winds of 80 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
45,992
Population (ACS)
$161K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Dec 10, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ZETA | DR |
| Sep 14, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SALLY | EM |
| Jul 10, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Chilton County, Alabama?
332 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $5.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Chilton County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 167 recorded events — 50.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Chilton County?
48 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 36 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Chilton County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Chilton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Chilton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Chilton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 55 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Chilton 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
- Cherokee County 385
- Choctaw County 327
- Chambers County 261
- Clarke County 555
- Calhoun County 477
- Clay County 246
Cite this page
“Chilton County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/chilton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.