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Franklin County, Alabama severe weather history spans 489 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #912 nationally and #28 in Alabama.
489
Recorded events
28
Direct deaths
16
Direct injuries
$53.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, Alabama severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, Alabama severe weather history averages 6.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 163 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 46 events fall before 1990 and 443 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Franklin County, Alabama record is tornado, responsible for 28 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $51.3M 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 Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 263 | 0 | $1.8M | 87 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 144 | 0 | $165K | 4 | 1968–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 33 | 0 | $55K | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Tornado | 30 | 28 | $51.3M | F3 | 1953–2025 |
| Lightning | 8 | 0 | $83K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2008 |
Decade by decade
Franklin County, Alabama severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
29 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 touched down inside it and 6 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 | EF5 | 72 | 145 | 132.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-27 | EF5 | 23 | 137 | 37.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-02-04 | EF3 | 1 | 13 | 34.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-11-04 | EF3 | 0 | 16 | 60.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-03-09 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 10.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-02-15 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-11-29 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 10.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 12.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-01-21 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 5.7 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Franklin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | Tornado | NIX | 27 | 0 | $50.0M |
| Feb 5, 1971 | Tornado | 1 | 1 | $25K | |
| Feb 21, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $25K | |
| Apr 3, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Jun 29, 2025 | Lightning | REEDTOWN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 16, 2025 | Tornado | WACO | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 3, 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | DEMPSEY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Nov 30, 2016 | Tornado | PLEASANT GROVE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A bowing line of severe thunderstorms producing wind speeds between 60-70 MPH resulted in widespread wind damage across much of Franklin County AL. Numerous trees were blown down across the county as the sqall line pushed eastward. The hardest hit areas extended from Red Bay to Belgreen. The police in the Red Bay community reported that portable buildings were blown over at a school, numerous trees were down, and several cars were damaged. Some of these trees fell on houses. A tree was blown down onto a trailer on Highway 25, inflicting heavy damage. Fortunately, no one was in the mobile home when the tree fell.
A microburst from a collapsing severe thunderstorm produced significant damage within the town of Russellville. Most structures in downtown received damage of some magnitude, including windows being blown out, portions of roofs being torn off, and large trees being blown down. Eyewitnesses indicated the storm came up very suddenly and did not last long.
Strong thunderstorm wind downed trees in scattered areas across the southern portion of the county. A tree fell on a house in Vina, considered one of the oldest in that town, destroying it. Damage was heaviest in the south-central and southeast portion of the county.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
31,966
Population (ACS)
$136K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Sep 14, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SALLY | EM |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Apr 17, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 11, 2017 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IRMA | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Russellville 112
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, Alabama?
489 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 28 direct deaths and $53.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 263 recorded events — 53.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
29 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 68 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin 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
- Fayette County 317
- Geneva County 448
- Etowah County 547
- Greene County 164
- Escambia County 343
- Hale County 240
Cite this page
“Franklin County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.