510
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
14
Direct injuries
$5.3M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Houston County, Alabama: 510 recorded events between 1962 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 76. That places the county #105 nationally and #9 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Houston County, Alabama: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Houston County is the 2010s, when 201 of the county's 510 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 Houston County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 67.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #105 for this hazard and #9 within Alabama, putting it in the 96.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Houston County with 120 recorded events, while Oct 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 3, 2017 | MERRITTS CROSSROADS | 74 | 4 | 0 | $100K |
| Jun 7, 2013 | FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT | 40 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 1993 | 0 | 0 | 6 | $0 | |
| Feb 7, 2018 | MADRID | 55 | 0 | 2 | $100K |
| Apr 5, 2011 | DOTHAN | 55 | 0 | 2 | $100K |
| Apr 23, 2020 | ARDILLA | 50 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 5, 2011 | DOTHAN | 50 | 0 | 1 | $5K |
| Jun 5, 1998 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $15K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2026 | HARMON | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | KELLY SPRINGS | 50 | $2K |
| Mar 12, 2026 | DOTHAN | 50 | $2K |
| Mar 12, 2026 | DOTHAN | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | PETERMAN | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | TAYLOR | 50 | $2K |
| Mar 12, 2026 | WEBB | 50 | $2K |
| Mar 12, 2026 | PEARCE | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | MEMPHIS | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | DOTHAN | 50 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Houston County
- Hail 93
- Flash Flood 66
- Tornado 62
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An NWS Survey Team determined that some damage in the Rehobeth area was caused by strong straight line winds on the southern flank of a tornado just to the north. Damage consisted of numerous large trees snapped or uprooted. One mobile home was split by a large tree, resulting in four fatalities. The damage pattern along this path was not convergent and was noticeably south of the path of the tornado vortex. Damage cost was estimated.
A 49 year old male was killed when an inflatable that looked like a castle came loose from its moorings during at thunderstorm and a pipe struck him in the head. There was no other damage reported in the immediate vicinity, so it was likely that this was associated with sub-severe wind speeds.
Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across Dothan. At the peak, 40,000 customers were without power. Structural damage occurred to Houston County Farm Center with a preliminary damage assessment of major damage to 33 homes and minor damage to 115 homes. Also some cars had trees on them. The assessment listed the damage total at over $2.2 million. No injuries occurred in the storm itself, but 3 minor injuries occurred during cleanup.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Houston County, Alabama?
510 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Houston County between 1962 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Houston County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Houston County measured 76.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Houston 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Houston County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/houston-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.