Rainbow City

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Etowah County, the county that contains Rainbow City.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Etowah County, the county that contains Rainbow City.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Etowah County, the county that contains Rainbow City.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Etowah County.

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 16, 2000Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage in Etowah and Cherokee counties was the result of an F3 tornado. The tornado track was 12.8 miles long and just over one quarter of a mile or about 500 yards wide at its widest point. The tornado touched down near Tidmore Bend, 5.3 miles east north east of the city of Gadsden, at 246 PM and lifted at 305 PM near Pollard Bend in Cherokee County. The tornado track was 8.1 miles in Etowah County and 4.7 miles in Cherokee County for a total of 12.8 miles.The most significant damage with the tornado was in the Coats Bend Community of Etowah County where 14 injuries occurred and approximately 250 homes were either totally destroyed or had major damage. Damage in Cherokee County…

2. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$9.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado initially touched down in eastern Jefferson County, north northeast of Trussville. The tornado moved northeast through portions of St. Clair, Calhoun, Etowah and Cherokee Counties, before it moved into Georgia, across Polk, Floyd and Bartow (See Storm Data Peachtree City) Counties. The tornado moved into southeastern Etowah County, east of Cannon Gap Rd, where it caused mainly tree damage consistent with an EF1 rating and winds of 100 mph. This tornado just clipped the corner of the county. The tornado crossed back into Calhoun County, just south of US Hwy 278. ||This tornado was produced by a supercell thunderstorm that began in Newton County Mississippi at 13:54 pm…

3. Nov 24, 2001Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The F4 tornado first touched down in the vicinity of the Mt. Carmel Church, south of US 231 on CR 29, where several trees were snapped off. The tornado tracked northeast and produced extensive F2-type damage to homes and trailer homes along Tidwell Road where several injuries occurred. All trees in the neighborhood were snapped mid-trunk. As the tornado crossed US 231, it completely destroyed a frame house with F4 magnitude damage. Large trees around the house were uprooted and snapped at mid-trunk. From there, the tornado continued moving northeast and produced it's worst, F4 magnitude damage, between Robbins Lake and Airport Road. Large trees were completely snapped off at…

4. Feb 27, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down or uprooted in southern Etowah County sporadically along this path. Many trees blocked roadways. 10 single family homes were totally destroyed. 20 homes sustained major damage. Minor damage was reported to another 29 homes. Two mobile homes were demolished and four additional mobile homes received minor damage. One man in North Gadsden was injured when his home crumbled. He had several bruises and a concussion. In Walnut Park, one woman died, apparently of natural causes, but it occurred in the middle of the storm. Stowers Manufacturing Plant in Gadsden had a large portion of its roof torn off. The damage was heavily concentrated in…

5. Nov 24, 2004Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several roads were reported covered with water in the city of Gadsden. Many of the roads were temporarily impassable due to the high water. Several area streams and creeks rose above bankfull. Canoe Creek rose out of its banks and flooded a few homes. One culvert was completely washed out. A minor landslide occurred on Whorton Gap Road. One bridge suffered major damage on Babe Jackson Road. Doppler radar estimated widespread rain amounts of 4 to 5 inches with a few spots approaching 12 inches. Runoff from these storms lasted for several hours after the heaviest rains ended.

6. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Etowah$180,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the county. Several homes suffered mainly roof damage. Power was not fully restored for at least 2 days. The Etowah County Emergency Management Agency recorded a wind gust of 57 miles an hour during Ivan. Peak wind gusts across the county were around 60 miles an hour. Doppler radar and ground observations indicate up to 6 inches of rain occurred during the tropical system. A few roads were temporarily impassable due to high water.

7. Aug 2, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$154,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm downburst produced an extensive area of damage in southern Etowah County, just south of the Southside Community. The damage swath extended from the southern end of Babe Jackson Drive, northeastward for about 3 miles, to AL-77. The heaviest concentration of damage was in the Grant Drive, Routon Circle, Meadow Circle, Nabors Drive, Broughton Springs Road, and Mountain Top Road areas. At least 27 homes and other structures, and 2 vehicles, received minor to moderate damage due to the wind and from fallen trees. Around 100 trees were either uprooted or snapped off. Peak wind gusts were estimated around 100 mph.

8. Jul 27, 2005Lightning$110,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An auto body shop in Attalla was struck by lightning. The ensuing fire destroyed the entire business. Another lightning strike hit a clothes drier in a home in Gadsden. The residents were able to extinguish the fire after it caused minor damage.

9. Apr 11, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sporadic uprooted and snapped trees were found along a 4.5 mile distance in the city of Gadsden. Some of the downed trees fell on houses and out buildings causing structural damage. Other damage included lost shingles and siding. One older brick building in the downtown area lost a portion of a wall. The Etowah County EOC measured a wind gust to 86 mph.

10. Jan 6, 2009Flash Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rainfall produced flooding at several locations across Etowah County. Flood waters helped wash away a culvert and underlying water line northwest of the city of Attalla. A private dam near the Gallant Community broke, producing up to 12 feet of flooding in the area, and causing about a dozen houses to be evacuated. Around 12 roads in the county were closed due to flood water.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

106°FJun 30, 2012

All-time low

−6°F2 times, most recently Jan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°FJul 26, 2012

Coldest day

16°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

6.21 inAug 1, 2019

Snowiest day

6.0 inJan 1, 1964

Hottest year

2012mean 65.8°F

Coldest year

1976mean 58.4°F

Wettest year

201374.10 in

Driest year

198632.52 in

Snowiest season

6.0 in1963-64

Station Gadsden (USC00013154), 565 ft elevation, 8.5 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1953 to October 27, 2026; 89.7% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Etowah County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00013154.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.