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Shelby County, Alabama severe weather history spans 739 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #361 nationally and #15 in Alabama.
739
Recorded events
14
Direct deaths
187
Direct injuries
$42.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Shelby County, Alabama severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Shelby County, Alabama severe weather history averages 10.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 227 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 102 events fall before 1990 and 637 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Shelby County, Alabama record is tornado, responsible for 11 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $36.9M 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 Shelby County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 398 | 0 | $1.9M | 69 | 1965–2026 |
| Hail | 196 | 0 | $864K | 4.5 | 1955–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 70 | 3 | $977K | 8 | 1996–2026 |
| Tornado | 52 | 11 | $36.9M | F4 | 1957–2025 |
| Lightning | 13 | 0 | $949K | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $510K | 0 | 2009–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 2001–2010 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1997 |
Decade by decade
Shelby County, Alabama severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
54 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 42 touched down inside it and 12 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964-01-24 | EF4 | 10 | 6 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-27 | EF4 | 7 | 199 | 139.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-03-30 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 29.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-03-25 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 50.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-03-25 | EF3 | 0 | 13 | 79.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-02-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-03-27 | EF2 | 0 | 53 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-03-16 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-12-27 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-04-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Shelby County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 1964 | Tornado | 10 | 6 | $250K | |
| Oct 7, 2021 | Flash Flood | ELVIRA | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| May 28, 1973 | Tornado | 1 | 63 | $25.0M | |
| Jan 7, 1998 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 0 | $35K |
| Mar 27, 1994 | Tornado | 0 | 53 | $5.0M | |
| Feb 10, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 22 | $0 | |
| Jan 10, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 14 | $250K | |
| Mar 10, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 7 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado began on the north side of Helena on the Bearden Farm moving northeastward crossing Alabama 261 near Pelham High School. The school suffered some damage. Continuing northeast, the tornado caused damage in a residential section before doing extensive damage to two mobile home parks on the west side of U.S. Highway 31 on the north side of Pelham. The tornado did extensive to businesses in the stretch from the U.S. 31/Alabama 119 intersection to the Alabama 119/Interstate 65 intersection. The tornado continued on its track going through primarily residential areas of Pelham and Indian Springs. The tornado dissipated just before reaching the Meadow Brook area about two miles west of U.S. Highway 280. Areas in the path of the tornado included sections of Chandalar, Green Park South mobile home park, South Gate Mobile Home Park, Indian Springs Village, Broken Bow, Broken Bow South, and Riverchase.
A tornado developed along a Quasi-Linear Convective System. It touched down in far northern Shelby County, less than one mile west of the intersection of Valleydale Road and Caldwell Mill Road, and tracked northeastward into southern Jefferson County. The tornado produced damage consistent with an EF1 rating and winds of 100 mph. Numerous trees were knocked down, causing damage to homes, apartment buildings, vehicles and power lines. The tornado crossed into Jefferson County just east of the intersection of Caldwell Mill Rd and Pahokee Trace.
What began as flash flooding transitioned into widespread long term flooding across a large portion of Shelby County during the late morning of the 10th. Dozens of roads were closed across the county due to high water, and as many as ten roads were still closed two days later. The hardest hit area was the western portion of the county, especially around the Helena, Pelham, and Alabaster areas, where more than 8 inches of rain fell during the 3 day period. In Alabaster, several vehicles were overcome by high water, and the occupants briefly became trapped. Other communities that experienced flooding included Montevallo, Columbiana, Shelby, and Wilsonville.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
230,211
Population (ACS)
$326K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Dec 21, 2021 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 26, 2021 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Sep 14, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SALLY | EM |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Shelby County, Alabama?
739 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 14 direct deaths and $42.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Shelby County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 398 recorded events — 53.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Shelby County?
54 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 42 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Shelby County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Shelby County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Shelby County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Shelby County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 90 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Shelby 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
- St. Clair County 469
- Sumter County 333
- Russell County 275
- Talladega County 514
- Randolph County 310
- Tallapoosa County 421
Cite this page
“Shelby County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/shelby-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.