47
Recorded events
48
Direct deaths
493
Direct injuries
$179.9M
Property damage
Tornado in Marion County, Alabama: 47 recorded events between 1953 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F5. That places the county #432 nationally and #25 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Marion County, Alabama: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Marion County is the 2010s, when 13 of the county's 47 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 Marion County archive, tornado makes up 9.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #432 for this hazard and #25 within Alabama, putting it in the 85.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for tornado in Marion County with 14 recorded events, while Jul 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-27 | EF5 | 132.0 mi | 2,200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF5 | 79.5 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-27 | EF5 | 37.3 mi | 1,320 yd | Crossed in |
| 1971-02-04 | EF3 | 34.1 mi | 750 yd | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-27 | EF3 | 31.8 mi | 1,320 yd | Touched down here |
| 1986-03-12 | EF3 | 2.5 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-04-26 | EF3 | 12.0 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1957-04-08 | EF3 | 51.4 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1989-02-20 | EF2 | 10.0 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1986-03-12 | EF2 | 7.5 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1974 | F5 | 23 | 250 | $0 | |
| Apr 27, 2011 | BARNESVILLE | EF5 | 18 | 100 | $160.0M |
| Apr 27, 2011 | BEXAR | EF3 | 7 | 100 | $11.2M |
| Apr 30, 1963 | F2 | 0 | 17 | $250K | |
| Feb 5, 1971 | F3 | 0 | 12 | $25K | |
| Nov 27, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Mar 12, 1963 | F2 | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| May 5, 1953 | F1 | 0 | 2 | $3K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 29, 2024 | GOLDMINE | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | WINFIELD | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | BEXAR | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 1, 2023 | HACKLEBURG | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 25, 2023 | TESSNER | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 2, 2023 | SHOTTSVILLE | EF1 | $0 |
| Dec 30, 2021 | GUIN | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2021 | HAMILTON ARPT | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | SHOTTSVILLE | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 30, 2016 | GUIN | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Marion County
- Thunderstorm Wind 272
- Hail 152
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A small tornado touched down about six miles east of Hamilton along U.S. Highway 278. The tornado travelled on a track just slightly north of east for about six miles running along and crossing U.S. Highway 278 twice. According to Emergency Management officials, five homes were damaged, three severely, and six chicken houses were destroyed.
The tornado touched down on US-43 just south of the Gu-Win community. From there it produced a sporadic damage path to the northeast for a little over 7 miles, crossing AL-253, CR-61, US-78, and AL-129, before lifting on the southwest side of Brilliant. Three homes took the brunt of the damage, all located southwest of Brilliant along County Road 47. One home had minor damage due to fallen trees. One of these trees uprooted and flipped a minivan upside down. The second home had minor roof damage and two outbuildings on the property that were destroyed. The third home incurred major structural damage when the windward side of the garage was blown in. There was also an outbuilding that flipped over at the third home location. In total, 40 to 60 hardwood trees were uprooted along the path.
The tornado spun up very quickly about 2.5 miles southwest of the Shottsville Community along County Road 13, between Reedy Branch Road and CR-154. The tornado then tracked just south of due east for almost the entire length of Marion County, with a slight left turn noted near the middle of the path. The tornado crossed CR-11, SR-19, SR-187, US-43, and SR-253, before lifting along CR-34. The tornado remained mostly in a heavily forested area, and thousands of trees were either snapped off or uprooted. Several mobile homes and one carport sustained varying degrees of damage along the path.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Marion County, Alabama?
47 tornado events are recorded in Marion County between 1953 and 2024, causing 48 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Marion County?
The strongest tornado on record in Marion County measured F5.
Where does the tornado data for Marion 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 Marion County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/marion-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.