Cherokee County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Cherokee County: 3.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$19.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado initially touched down in eastern Jefferson County, north northeast of Trussville and moved northeast through portions of St. Clair, Calhoun, Etowah and Cherokee Counties. The tornado then moved into Georgia, across Polk, Floyd and Bartow (See Storm Data Peachtree City) Counties. The tornado moved into southwestern Cherokee County south of Estes Crossroads, along CR 19. As the tornado continued northeast, it strengthened as it moved south of Gnatville, to an EF2 rating with winds of 120 mph. Extensive tree damage was noted along CR 6 and several mobile homes sustained significant damage off of CR 447. The tornado strengthened further to an EF3 rating with winds of 150…

2. Nov 10, 2002Tornado$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Centre Tornado touched down near Highway 411, just to the east of the Cherokee Country Club. It then traveled northeast, crossed over Cowan Creek, and damaged houses along County Road 40 at approximately 1122 pm CST. The tornado continued its northeastward movement and crossed over County Road 16 at approximately 1125 pm CST. One death was reported in a mobile home at the point where the tornado crossed over County Road 16. From this point, the tornado crossed County Road 31, damaging more homes before moving over Spring Creek. The tornado turned more to the east-northeast, damaging even more homes, before finally lifting near the eastern end of Weiss Lake near Mud Creek.The…

3. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Cherokee$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and power lines were knocked down areawide. At least three homes sustained significant damage and many more suffered minor roof damage. Maximum wind gust were estimated around 60 miles an hour. At least 8000 customers were without power at the height of the storm. Several roadways, creeks, and homes were flooded due to the torrential rain. Doppler radar andground observations indicate as much as 6 inches of rain fell in association with Ivan.

4. Nov 24, 2001Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado began about 2.7 miles south-southwest of Sand Rock at 3:01 pm moving northeast. The tornado moved across the southern and eastern portions of Sand Rock damaging a number of structures. Two people were killed in a mobile home just east of Sand Rock. The tornado continued northeast moving through mostly open areas with structures damaged and trees downed along the way. The tornado finally dissipated around 3:18 pm about 5.5 miles northeast of Sand Rock.The tornado was rated an F2 with a path length of 8.2 miles and a width of 200 yards.Beginning: 34 12.477/85 47.520 Ending: 34 18.063/85 42.139

5. Jan 22, 2000Ice Storm, Cherokee$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A light mixture of rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow started on the morning of the 22nd. Several bridges became ice covered and numerous trees received a glaze of ice. Several trees and tree limbs started breaking and falling on roads by 9:00 PM. Scattered power outages were also being reported by late evening. Very early on the 23rd, around 1:30 AM, temperatures cooled off to the point where significant icing began taking place. Numerous locations received icing up to at least one inch. Trees and power lines were downed throughout the area and many downed trees blocked roads. Numerous roads were closed, especially at higher elevations. The Alabama National Guard was activated…

6. Aug 13, 2010Lightning$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a house on County Road 77 resulting in a fire.

7. May 7, 2003Flash Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads across the county were temporarily impassable due to high water. Many remained closed for several hours. Some towns that reported flooding included Broomtown, Gaylesville, Cedar Bluff, and Leesburg.

8. Aug 29, 2005Tropical Storm, Cherokee$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were snapped off or blown down across Cherokee County during Katrina.

9. Jan 28, 2000Ice Storm, Cherokee$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very light precipitation started falling early in the morning of the 28th. The precipitation was initially a mix of rain, sleet, and snow. Little to no accumulation of snow occurred across the area. As the day progressed, the precipitation changed to light freezing rain and lasted until the afternoon of the 29th. Significant accumulation of ice occurred on trees and bridges mainly in the higher elevations. Most of this same area was hit very hard by an ice storm on the 22nd and 23th and had not recovered yet. Numerous trees and power lines went down across the area and several homes and automobiles were damaged by the falling trees. Many roads were impassable and closed. A young…

10. Mar 15, 2008Tornado$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado touched down near the intersection of CR-6 and CR-31, just west of AL-9, about 5 miles north of Piedmont. From there, it moved just north of due east, across AL-9, and then roughly parallel to CR-10 for about 3 miles, before lifting near Hurricane Creek. Some metal roof paneling was torn off a barn and one-half of a roof was torn off a brick home. Two other homes and another barn also sustained damage. Numerous trees in the area were also snapped or uprooted.

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°FJul 1, 2012

All-time low

−5°FJan 24, 1963

Warmest night

78°FJun 26, 1949

Coldest day

15°F2 times, most recently Jan 30, 1966

Wettest day

6.35 inSep 28, 1963

Snowiest day

6.6 inDec 31, 1963

Hottest year

2019mean 64.2°F

Coldest year

1963mean 58.4°F

Wettest year

196468.56 in

Driest year

200728.88 in

Snowiest season

9.3 in1963-64

Station Rome R B Russell Airport (USW00093801), 639 ft elevation, 29.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 97.4% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00093801.
• 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.