Covington County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Covington County: 2.
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.

Mapped landslides

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. Sep 25, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Covington$9.0 million
   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…

2. Mar 8, 1998Flash Flood$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving complex weather system moved through southwest Alabama on March 8, bringing with it copious amounts of rainfall. The Mobile WSR-88D estimated rainfall totals of six to ten inches across the area on March 8 with Brewton recording 9.54 inches. Some areas in north Baldwin county estimated up to fifteen inches of rain with Covington county estimating up to twelve inches of rain. The heavy rains began on the evening of March 7 and continued through the night before tapering off on the afternoon of March 8. The heaviest rainfall fell from midnight until around noon on March 8. The heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding across the area. The flooding began in Mobile…

3. Dec 24, 2015Flood$3.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads in the county were closed due to flooding. Many dirt roads and bridges were damaged by the flood waters.

4. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado continued east from extreme southeastern Conecuh County, Alabama. The tornado snapped or uprooted trees along a 150 yard wide path, producing damage to several homes, outbuildings and structures adjacent to Brooklyn Road. Several homes had significant roof damage with some having trees blown over onto them. The tornado crossed U.S. Highway 29 at County Road 56 then lifted as it moved across the Covington County Arena area producing roof damage to the Kiwanis Building.

5. Mar 12, 2001Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down along the leading edge of a bow echo in the Pigeon Creek area just north of Red Level. The tornado destroyed a manufactured home with three people inside. Two of the occupants were killed and one was injured. The tornado appeared to have first touched down where the home was located. The youngest victim was home sick from school and her grandmother was watching her. The girls father was working in a room that was attached to the home. When the winds hit, the home was pulled out of the ground and rolled across a road and was completely demolished. The room where the girls father was working was left standing. Another "Double Wide" manufactured home, just west…

6. Nov 15, 2006Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado first touched down near Hillcrest Ponds around the junction of county roads 34 and 45, then moved northeast, before lifting back into the clouds near county road 70 just west of Friendship. Considerable damage occurred along the path of the tornado. The first residence hit had two large grain silos torn from their foundations. One was thrown roughly 15 yards, the other about 150 yards across the road and into a nearby pasture. Another home sustained considerable damage when an outbuilding was lifted by the tornado and thrown into the home. Several other homes along the path of the tornado suffered roof damage. The most significant and widespread damage along the path…

7. Apr 17, 1998Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down just east of the Opp country club, then moved southeast crossing U S Highway 84 just south of downtown before lifting back into the cloud just west of U S Highway 331. The tornado damaged the Opp mill and tore off part of the roof from the South Highlands Elementary school. The tornado damaged more than ninety homes and several businesses. No injuries were reported.

8. Nov 21, 1997Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado briefly touched down one mile south of Opp near the community of Beulah. Three homes were hit by the tornado. One home was completely destroyed and two others suffered major damage. Five family members in the destroyed home said they huddled in the hallway and were not injured. They said it sounded like a freight train moved through. Two large empty chicken houses were also destroyed. A barn and several outbuildings also suffered damage. Trees and power lines were blown down. Several vehicles and farm implements also were damaged by the fallen trees. One cow was killed by the debris. Another cow was found wandering in the road, but there was no way for the cow to have…

9. Feb 17, 2008Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The strong EF-2 tornado that began in Escambia county entered Covington county 6.4 miles southwest of Beck over heavily forested areas and moved northeast. The tornado crossed County Road 42 just to the west of Fairfield. The tornado then dissipated just north of Fairfield. In Covington county the tornado was rated a weak EF-1. Significant tree damage occurred in Covington county with structural damage confined to the populated area of Fairfield. Five houses suffered damage and one home was destroyed in Fairfield. No injuries were reported.

10. Mar 12, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The line of intense thunderstorms that had moved through the Red Level and Pigeon Creek areas of Covington county caused more damage along U. S. 29. just northeast of Gantt. The damage was mostly confined to the west side of the lake. The high winds caused damage to several homes and buildings along with blowing down numerous trees. Most of the damage was to light weight structures, such as out buildings and tin roofs on barns. No one was injured. The "Bow Echo" that caused the damage kept weakening as it moved east.

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

105°FJul 14, 1980

All-time low

8°FJan 13, 1981

Warmest night

81°FJul 13, 1980

Coldest day

25°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

11.44 inJun 9, 1989

Snowiest day

0.1 inFeb 2, 1994

Hottest year

1949mean 69.3°F

Coldest year

1976mean 64.2°F

Wettest year

199183.99 in

Driest year

200638.54 in

Snowiest season

0.1 in1993-94

Station Crestview Faa/ap (USW00013884), 154 ft elevation, 35.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 24, 2026; 98.7% 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.

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 USW00013884.
• 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.