Washington County, Alabama severe weather history spans 314 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 49.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,702 nationally and #46 in Alabama.
314
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$13.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Washington County, Alabama severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Washington County, Alabama severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 97 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 41 events fall before 1990 and 273 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Washington County, Alabama record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $6.2M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Washington County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 156 | 0 | $4.1M | 80 | 1968–2025 |
| Hail | 90 | 0 | $1.5M | 2.75 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 31 | 3 | $6.2M | F2 | 1969–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Lightning | 11 | 0 | $249K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2008 |
Decade by decade
Washington County, Alabama severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
35 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 30 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-15 | EF3 | 4 | 28 | 18.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-11-30 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-11-04 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-01-23 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 6.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-02-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-12-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-11-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-03-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Washington County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 2011 | Tornado | ESCATAWPA | 3 | 3 | $2.0M |
| Mar 12, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | MC INTOSH | 0 | 6 | $1.0M |
| Apr 15, 2011 | Tornado | YARBO | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Jun 22, 2001 | Lightning | TIBBIE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Oct 22, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado moved into southwest Washington county from the Leakesville area of Greene County Mississippi. The tornado tracked near County Road 8 where several mobile homes were damaged or destroyed. Three fatalities and three injuries occurred in a destroyed mobile home in Deer Park on Box Road. The tornado lifted just prior to reaching Highway 45. Extensive tree damage nearly 400 yards wide was noted in several areas along the path.
An EF-1 tonado developed near the intersection of Topton Road and U.S. Highway 43. The tornado traveled northeast for about 1.6 miles and ended near the Ciba industrial plant. Numerous pine trees were snapped at their bases along the entire path and extensive roof damage was observed to single family residence homes. The Ciba plant experienced damage to several of its building's roofs. The high winds also blew through the glass door entry-ways of several buildings. High winds also blew out the rear windshields of an entire row of pickup trucks. One truck in the parking lot was flipped upside down and extensive tree damage occurred near the entrance to the plant.
A line of severe thunderstorms moved through the county between 1025 pm and 1110 pm. Trees and power lines were blown down throughout the county. The hardest hit area was Millry. County Road 34 leading into Millry from the west had trees down all along it as did most of the city of Millry. A spokesman for the local electric utility company said it was one of the worst storms in years in terms of damage and outages. Many of the trees fell onto houses and businesses causing extensive damage to the structures. It took more than a week for the county to get the trees off the highways and homes. No one was seriously injured during the storm.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
15,143
Population (ACS)
$160K
Median home value
27
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Dec 10, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ZETA | DR |
| Sep 14, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SALLY | EM |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Nov 16, 2017 | Hurricane | HURRICANE NATE | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Washington County, Alabama?
314 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $13.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Washington County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 156 recorded events — 49.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Washington County?
35 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 30 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Washington County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Washington County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Washington County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washington County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 46 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Washington 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
- Walker County 637
- Wilcox County 146
- Tuscaloosa County 852
- Winston County 432
- Tallapoosa County 421
- Talladega County 514
Cite this page
“Washington County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/washington-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.