Dale County, Alabama severe weather history spans 601 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 73.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #580 nationally and #18 in Alabama.
601
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
161
Direct injuries
$47.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Dale County, Alabama severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dale County, Alabama severe weather history averages 8.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 227 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 70 events fall before 1990 and 531 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Dale County, Alabama record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $44.1M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Dale County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 444 | 0 | $2.5M | 70 | 1961–2026 |
| Hail | 65 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 43 | 4 | $44.1M | F3 | 1954–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2001–2022 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $228K | 0 | 2009–2015 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $181K | 0 | 2006–2012 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 2007–2013 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2012 |
Decade by decade
Dale County, Alabama severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
49 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 35 touched down inside it and 14 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-03-01 | EF4 | 9 | 50 | 10.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1986-11-25 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 44.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-12-30 | EF3 | 0 | 14 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-12-29 | EF3 | 0 | 11 | 11.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1972-01-13 | EF2 | 4 | 88 | 6.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2000-12-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 29.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-03-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-03-05 | EF2 | 0 | 14 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-10-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.3 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dale County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 13, 1972 | Tornado | 4 | 88 | $250K | |
| Nov 25, 2001 | Tornado | DALEVILLE | 0 | 25 | $3.0M |
| Mar 5, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 14 | $25.0M | |
| Dec 30, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 14 | $3K | |
| Oct 17, 1955 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 1, 2007 | Tornado | ECHO | 0 | 4 | $2.5M |
| Dec 24, 1997 | Tornado | NEWTON | 0 | 4 | $250K |
| Nov 5, 2002 | Tornado | ECHO | 0 | 3 | $150K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A strong F1 tornado touched down just southwest of Daleville, near the northwest corner of Cairns Army Airfield at Fort Rucker. Several maintenance buildings sustained minor roof damage. One aircraft suffered minor damage from flying sheet metal. The tornado tracked northeast into Daleville and damaged 25 businesses along Highway 85, including a church, gas station, two supermarkets, a bank and several homes. It destroyed a restaurant and two industrial park buildings. The tornado lifted the roof off of the Daleville Inn and Landing Zone Lounge, causing its walls to collapse. Of the 125 patrons inside, 23 suffered minor injuries and two serious injuries. One restaurant was destroyed. Nearly 40 businesses and 1,000 residential customers lost power after the tornado toppled numerous power poles. The intersection of Highways 85 and 134 in Daleville was closed and a curfew was imposed for 24 hours. Fort Rucker damage surveyed by an off-duty Air Force meteorologist and Daleville damage surveyed by the NWS.
The tornado touched down southwest of the community of Echo and traveled northeast along State Road 27 before it crossed into western Henry County. The damage assessment indicated that the EF-1 tornado damaged 24 mobile homes and destroyed five others. Four residents of a mobile home were injured when the tornado damaged their mobile home. The tornado also demolished 18 chicken houses, which killed 140,000 chickens. The tornado's path missed the Ft Rucker, Alabama WSR-88D RDA site by less than a quarter mile. Numerous trees and utility poles were snapped. Dale County was declared a federal disaster area.
The F0 tornado moved northeast from extreme western Houston County into southeast Dale County. It rapidly intensified to an F2 tornado as it continued its intermittent track into the eastern portion of the county. A Midland City church annex lost parts of its roof and walls. Several homes in the Doe Run Subdivision south of Pinckard were destroyed and numerous others were damaged. In Pinckard, numerous trees and power lines were down. Many homes and businesses were damaged, some seriously. The tornado tracked northeast into western Henry County. Reported by the Dale County EMA.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
49,599
Population (ACS)
$144K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| 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 |
| Nov 5, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MICHAEL | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Ozark 120
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dale County, Alabama?
601 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $47.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dale County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 444 recorded events — 73.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dale County?
49 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 35 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dale County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dale County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dale County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dale County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 68 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dale 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
- Cullman County 1,074
- Dallas County 373
- Crenshaw County 248
- DeKalb County 965
- Covington County 431
- Elmore County 550
Cite this page
“Dale County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/dale-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.