43
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
161
Direct injuries
$44.1M
Property damage
Tornado in Dale County, Alabama: 43 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #537 nationally and #34 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Dale County, Alabama: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Dale County is the 2000s, when 13 of the county's 43 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 Dale County archive, tornado makes up 7.2% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #537 for this hazard and #34 within Alabama, putting it in the 81.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Oct is the peak month for tornado in Dale County with 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-03-01 | EF4 | 10.3 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1986-11-25 | EF3 | 44.0 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1973-12-29 | EF3 | 11.6 mi | 67 yd | Crossed in |
| 1973-12-30 | EF3 | 1.5 mi | 120 yd | Touched down here |
| 1972-01-13 | EF2 | 6.3 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 2000-12-16 | EF2 | 29.0 mi | 170 yd | Crossed in |
| 1994-03-09 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 1984-05-03 | EF2 | 5.5 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1984-03-05 | EF2 | 8.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1955-10-16 | EF2 | 16.4 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 13, 1972 | F2 | 4 | 88 | $250K | |
| Nov 25, 2001 | DALEVILLE | F1 | 0 | 25 | $3.0M |
| Mar 5, 1984 | F2 | 0 | 14 | $25.0M | |
| Dec 30, 1973 | F3 | 0 | 14 | $3K | |
| Oct 17, 1955 | F2 | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 1, 2007 | ECHO | EF1 | 0 | 4 | $2.5M |
| Dec 24, 1997 | NEWTON | F1 | 0 | 4 | $250K |
| Nov 5, 2002 | ECHO | F1 | 0 | 3 | $150K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2025 | MIDLAND CITY | EF0 | $25K |
| Mar 9, 2024 | MABSON | EF1 | $200K |
| Aug 31, 2021 | MIDLAND CITY | EF0 | $100K |
| Apr 20, 2020 | DALE COUNTY LAKE | EF1 | $100K |
| Apr 22, 2018 | FORT RUCKER | EF0 | $1K |
| Feb 24, 2016 | CURRYTOWN | EF0 | $0 |
| Jan 4, 2015 | MIDLAND CITY | EF0 | $5K |
| Jan 4, 2015 | PINCKARD | EF0 | $10K |
| Dec 25, 2012 | HIGHWAY 231 PEA RIVER BRIDGE | EF0 | $0 |
| Dec 14, 2009 | ROCKY HEAD | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Dale County
- Thunderstorm Wind 444
- Hail 65
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.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Dale County, Alabama?
43 tornado events are recorded in Dale County between 1954 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Dale County?
The strongest tornado on record in Dale County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Dale 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 Dale County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/dale-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.