Cleburne County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. May 11, 2008Tornado$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down along the Talladega Scenic Drive just south of US Highway 78. It then moved along a slightly curved path until it crossed CR-79, and then tracked almost due east as it produced its most concentrated damage near SR-9. The tornado lifted near the end of Brockford Road in the vicinity of Shadow Lane, on the east side of the city of Heflin. Hundreds of trees were either snapped off or uprooted along the path. Eight homes were destroyed, and more than 40 others received significant damage.

2. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Cleburne$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down across the county. At least 10 homes suffered moderate damage with many more reporting minor roof damage. The debris removal took two weeks in some locations. Power was restored to most of the county in 24 hours. Maximum wind gust were estimated between 55 and 65 miles an hour. Several roadways and creeks were flooded due to the torrential rain. One creek bridge suffered damage. Doppler radar and ground observations indicate as much as 6 inches of rain fell in association with Ivan.

3. May 7, 2003Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thirty to forty roads were flooded and impassable for at least 10 hours. The hardest hit areas were along the Cleburne and Randolph County line in extreme southern Cleburne County. A mudslide occurred on SR 9 near Heflin.

4. Feb 26, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the northern portion of the county. At least 10 buildings had roof damage due to downed trees, and at least 3 buildings had roofs completely blown off. Several mobile homes in a mobile home park suffered varying degrees of damage to underpinning, roofs, and structure.

5. Jul 20, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several trees and powerlines were blown down across East Central Cleburne County. A few homes suffered significant damage due to fallen trees.

6. Aug 25, 2008Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down on US-431, about a half mile south of the intersection with AL-281. It then moved northwestward, along and just east of US-431, and lifted just before reaching AL-281. One gas station/convenience store and one auto body shop were significantly damaged. Approximately 100 to 200 trees were snapped off or were uprooted along the damage path. This tornado was associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay.

7. May 7, 2003Lightning$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a home on Webb Drive and the resulting fire damaged 50 percent of the home. Another lightning strike caused minor damage to a home on SR 46.

8. May 7, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two severe thunderstorms moved across southern Cleburne County. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down from near Hollis Crossroads to Micaville to near Ranburne. Many of the trees temporarily blocked roadways. Two homes were damaged near Micaville.

9. Jan 28, 2000Ice Storm, Cleburne$50,000
   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. Sep 16, 2004Flash Flood$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down across the county. At least 10 homes suffered moderate damage with many more reporting minor roof damage. The debris removal took two weeks in some locations. Power was restored to most of the county in 24 hours. Maximum wind gust were estimated between 55 and 65 miles an hour. Several roadways and creeks were flooded due to the torrential rain. One creek bridge suffered damage. Doppler radar and ground observations indicate as much as 6 inches of rain fell in association with Ivan.

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

107°FJul 13, 1980

All-time low

−10°FDec 24, 1983

Warmest night

83°F2 times, most recently Jul 4, 2011

Coldest day

14°FDec 13, 1962

Wettest day

6.50 inAug 24, 1967

Snowiest day

10.0 in2 times, most recently Mar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2019mean 62.6°F

Coldest year

1963mean 57.4°F

Wettest year

200974.96 in

Driest year

200727.23 in

Station Heflin (USC00013775), 1,010 ft elevation, 6.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1956 to December 20, 2025; 91.8% 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 USC00013775.
• 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.