Clarke County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Clarke County: 0.
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.

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 14, 2018Flash Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Five to nine inches of rain fell in a short duration along and east and west of the Highway 43 corridor from Thomasville to southwest of Grove Hill. At the height of the flash flood event, Highway 43 near Bassett Creek was covered in 6 feet of water. Several other roads in this area were also submerged in several feet of water, including Butler Drive in Thomasville. Multiple vehicles were submerged across the area. Approximately 20 water rescues had to be made from houses and residences with rescues reported 5 miles southwest of Grove Hill up toward Fulton. 25 homes experienced significant flooding. The flash flooding also resulted in significant infrastructure damage to roads,…

2. Mar 18, 1996Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST EAST OF U. S. HWY 43, JUST SOUTH OF JACKSON NEAR THE BOISE CASCADE PLANT AND THE AIRPORT. HEAVY DAMAGE WAS SUSTAINED AT THE BOISE CASCADE PLANT TO A BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION. SEVERAL HOMES NEAR THE AIRPORT ALSO SUFFERED ROOF DAMAGE. THE TORNADO MOVED NORTHEAST AND CROSSED STATE HIGHWAY 2 AND THEN PASSED JUST SOUTH OF WALKER SPRINGS. SEVERAL HOMES WERE DAMAGED HERE, WITH SEVERAL BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS AND A TRAILER BEING DESTROYED. A LADY IN THE TRAILER CRAWLED UNDER A TRACTOR TO ESCAPE THE TORNADO. ANOTHER LADY ESCAPED INJURY BY HIDING IN THE CLOSET OF HER HOME. FIFTEEN PEOPLE WERE INJURED BUT NONE SERIOUSLY AND THREE COWS WERE ALSO KILLED. MOST OF…

3. Jan 2, 2017Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flash flooding occurred in the Jackson, AL area due to 5 to 7 inches of rain falling over a very short period of time. 5 1/2 inches were measured in just 90 minutes. Numerous homes and roads flooded, with a few water rescues becoming necessary. Numerous homes on Cherry Avenue were flooded. 3 mobile homes were flooded on Warren Street. The Fish House Restaurant was also flooded. Several roads suffered damage.

4. Jun 5, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe thunderstorms moved through the county from west to east between 1045 pm and 1140 pm. Trees and power lines were blown down throughout the county. Some of the trees fell onto homes and businesses in the Jackson area where nine buildings were damaged. Electricity was out across much of the county because of downed power lines. Around 200 am near Toddtown (between Jackson and Grove Hill) a family was using candles to light their home. Tragically the candle started a fire in the home and a wheelchair bound female was killed in the fire.

5. Mar 3, 2001Flash Flood$365,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall caused extensive washouts to secondary roads and bridges across the counties. Most of the water had drained by sunset and most of the roads were reopened. However, some of the roads and bridges, especially in Clarke county, had to be rebuilt and were closed for several days before they were reopened. Radar estimated four to six inches of rainfall fell across the area.

6. Sep 25, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Clarke$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the second time in less than a month, the area was again threatened by a hurricane. Hurricane Georges affected the region September 25 through the 29. The coastal areas from Dauphin Island to east of Destin were put under a hurricane watch at 900 AM CST, September 25. A hurricane warning was issued for the area at 900 AM CST, September 26. The hurricane warning was changed to a tropical storm warning for the area at 300 PM CST, September 28. All tropical storm warnings for the area were dropped at 900 AM CST, September 29.Georges made landfall along the Mississippi coast near Biloxi between 300 and 500 AM CST, September 28.Some of the winds recorded across Southwest Alabama…

7. Feb 7, 2020Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding on the Tombigbee River in Clarke County started on February 7th, 2020 and did not end until March 17th, 2020. At the Coffeeville Lock and Dam, the river crested at 46.85 feet on February 22nd, which is right near the major flood level of 47 feet. At Leroy, the river crested at 33.35 feet on February 22nd, which is in moderate flood levels. In total, 18 structures were flooded along the river in Clarke County. Two of the structures had 2 to 3 feet of water in them. Most of the structures are camp houses, but approximately 4 of them are primary residences.

8. Nov 24, 2004Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado touched down just southwest of Highway 154 near Chilton. The tornado moved northeast along Highway 154 for about three miles before dissipating. The tornado damaged thirteen homes and destroyed three manufactured homes. Most of the homes were damaged when the tornado first touched down just southwest of Chilton. The area that the tornado struck is not heavily populated. No injuries were reported.

9. Nov 17, 2014Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado produced a non-continuous damage path. The storm moved out of Washington County and into Clarke County east of St. Stephens. The storm continued northeast and crossed the Tombigbee river into Clarke County. The tornado caused damage along Bolen Town Road where numerous trees were snapped and a large tree was completely uprooted and fell on a house, causing extensive damage. An older home suffered roof damage near Toddtown. Tree damage continued along Highway 69 before the storm weakened with damage ending near Antioch Road.

10. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$145,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado touched down taking a large section of roof off of a wood frame single story home near the center of circulation, pulling a single-wide mobile home off of its foundation on the north side of the circulation, and lifting off the roof of a nearby double-wide mobile home on the south side of the circulation. The tornado circulation quickly widened to 200 yards and strengthened, rolling another single-wide mobile home 60 yards then causing it to disintegrate as it hit a large tree. The mobile home's bent undercarriage was left about 60 yards to the left of the tornado path. The tornado continued to the east and quickly lifted in a pine forest.

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

104°F5 times, most recently Aug 24, 2023

All-time low

3°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

80°FAug 7, 2023

Coldest day

21°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

10.18 inDec 10, 1961

Snowiest day

5.5 inJan 1, 1964

Hottest year

1990mean 68.0°F

Coldest year

2014mean 63.5°F

Wettest year

197598.85 in

Driest year

200038.09 in

Station Jackson (USC00014193), 220 ft elevation, 12.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1965 to October 27, 2026; 93.4% 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 USC00014193.
• 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.