70
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$977K
Property damage
Flash Flood in Shelby County, Alabama: 70 recorded events between 1996 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 8. That places the county #339 nationally and #9 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Shelby County, Alabama: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Shelby County is the 2010s, when 24 of the county's 70 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 Shelby County archive, flash flood makes up 9.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #339 for this hazard and #9 within Alabama, putting it in the 88.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for flash flood in Shelby County with 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 7, 2021 | ELVIRA | 0 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 7, 1998 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $35K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 10, 2026 | NEW HOPE | — | $0 |
| May 18, 2025 | QUITO | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 6, 2025 | QUITO | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2025 | DARGIN | 0 | $0 |
| May 10, 2024 | ACTON | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 14, 2023 | SILURIA | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 4, 2023 | QUITO | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 30, 2022 | PARAMOUNT | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2022 | STERRETT | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2022 | DARGIN | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Shelby County
- Thunderstorm Wind 398
- Hail 196
- Tornado 52
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Radar estimated rain was falling at a rate up to 3 inches an hour in Riverchase and Pelham. Rain amounts over a two hour period were from 5 to 6 inches. Several roads were flooded and temporarily impassable. Several small streams rose out of their banks. A few homes were flooded in Riverchase. The Pelham Fire Department performed a few swift water rescues. Seventy-five homes and six businesses received varying degrees of flood damage in Pelham along Highway 261. No injuries were reported.
Numerous roads were reported covered with water and were temporarily impassable. Several area streams and creeks rose above bankfull. Doppler radar estimated widespread rain amounts of three to five inches with a few spots approaching 6 inches. Runoff from these storms lasted for several hours after the heaviest rains ended.
Water was flowing over the road at the intersection of CR-52 and CR-17 in Helena. At least a dozen vehicles became trapped and roads had to be closed at Joe Tucker Park, due to flood waters flowing over the spillway there.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Shelby County, Alabama?
70 flash flood events are recorded in Shelby County between 1996 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Shelby County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Shelby County measured 8.
Where does the flash flood data for Shelby 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
“Flash Flood in Shelby County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/shelby-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.