Selma

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 Dallas County, the county that contains Selma.

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 Dallas County, the county that contains Selma.

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 Dallas County, the county that contains Selma.

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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Dallas$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees and power lines were blown down across the entire county. At least 45,000 customers were without power during the height of the storm. Some locations did not have power restored for a week and a half. At least 10 homes were totally destroyed and another 400 homes were damaged. Fallen trees blocked every roadway in the county. Maximum wind gust were estimated around 90 miles an hour. Doppler radar and ground observations indicate 6 to 9 inches of rain fell across Dallas County during Ivan. One minor mudslide occurred due to the heavy rain and a few roads were temporarily impassable due to high water. One relief worker suffered minor injuries during the cleanup operations.

2. Mar 6, 1996Tornado$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado first touched down just south-southwest of Marion Junction in northern Dallas County and travelled east-northeast before ending in the northeastern part of the county. The tornado touched down initially in a rural area composed of fields with scattered houses. It crossed U. S. Highway 80 at the Cahaba River or about 9 miles west-northwest of Selma. The tornado continued on its east-northeast path crossing State Highway 14 and State Highway 22 before ending about two and a half miles east of Highway 22.The tornado path was about 19 miles in length with a maximum width of about 400 yards. The tornado first touched down around 3:42 am based on radar imagery. Travelling at…

3. Jul 10, 2005Tropical Storm, Dallas$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down across the county in association with Dennis. One person was injured when a tree fell on their vehicle. At least 5 homes and 1 business were damaged by the high winds. Thousands of customers were without power for a day or more.

4. Feb 17, 2008Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near Warrior Drive, just southeast of the Perry County line. It then tracked northeastward across AL-219 near the intersection of CR-230, moved right through the Summerfield Community, and crossed CR-37, before lifting just east of the intersection of CR-37 and CR-844. At least 5 structures, including 2 mobile homes and a metal warehouse, were destroyed. Twelve to fifteen additional structures, including several homes and an auto body shop, were damaged to varying degrees. Hundreds of trees were either snapped off or uprooted along the damage path.

5. Mar 1, 2007Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado that had previously caused EF-4 damage in Wilcox County crossed the Wilcox-Dallas county line about 6.4 miles southeast of the town of Alberta. The tornado then tracked northeastward and ended along the Alabama River, east of the Whites Bluff community. The most concentrated damage in Dallas County occurred just south of Five Points along County Road 31 and along County Road 33. Twenty seven homes suffered varying degrees of damage, and two homes were completely destroyed. At least six outbuildings were damaged. Numerous trees and power lines were either snapped off or uprooted along the path.

6. Aug 29, 2005Tropical Storm, Dallas$240,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down as Katrina affected the area. Many of the fallen trees landed on structures and vehicles. Thousands of customers were without power.

7. Feb 18, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$140,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A church was destroyed when winds estimated around 70 mph lifted off its roof and shifted it about 10 feet. Several trees in the same area were snapped and uprooted.

8. Mar 18, 1996Tornado$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A small tornado touched down along the Alabama River just inside Dallas County or about 10 miles south of Orrville. The tornado damaged several houses and mobile homes and at least one farm structure. Numerous trees were snapped off and uprooted. The tornado was on the ground for about 4 miles with a width of about 70 yards. Tornado intensity was judged to be an F1.

9. Nov 24, 2004Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   National Weather Service Meteorologists surveyed the damage across northern Dallas County and determined it was produced by and F1 tornado. The tornado first touched down near Marion Junction and moved northeastward across northern Dallas County. The tornado moved across mainly rural areas of the county at this time, but did partially damage several structures. Numerous trees were snapped off or blown down along the path. The tornado crossed SR 14 and SR 219 before dissipating on the southern end of the Summerfield Community. One person suffered minor injuries during the tornado. The tornado damage path was 14.6 miles long and 300 yards wide at its widest point. Begin: 32 26.66/87…

10. Mar 25, 1996Lightning$85,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A Baptist church at Marion Junction was struck by lightning and totally destroyed in the ensuing fire. The fire department responded to a call at 8:00 am so the lightning strike was estimated to have occurred around 7:45 am.

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

108°FJun 28, 1954

All-time low

−5°FFeb 13, 1899

Warmest night

81°FJul 14, 1980

Coldest day

18°FFeb 14, 1899

Wettest day

9.75 inMar 16, 1990

Snowiest day

5.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 22, 1901

Hottest year

1922mean 70.0°F

Coldest year

1903mean 63.6°F

Wettest year

191973.12 in

Driest year

200725.85 in

Station Selma (USC00017366), 147 ft elevation, 1.3 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1896 to September 30, 2026; 90.3% 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 Dallas 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 USC00017366.
• 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.
• 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.