DeKalb County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within DeKalb County: 34.
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 24, 2010Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long track EF-3 tornado crossed into DeKalb County about 6.5 miles west-southwest of Geraldine, about one mile north of Highway 75. The tornado continued into the town of Geraldine, snapping or uprooting numerous large trees which also led to some structural damage to residences. This was also noted along County Roads 227 and 52, just southeast of State Highway 75.

2. Apr 24, 2010Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long track tornado began it's 16.6 mile path about a half mile west of Hendrixville. The tornado intensified and knocked several trees down and damaged a chicken farm about 2 miles east northeast of Hendrixville just west of Interstate 59. The tornado continued sporadically into the town of Collinsville where it knocked three trees down and lifted several canopies at a campground. The tornado intensified and became violent just northeast of Collinsville reaching EF-4 intensity with winds of 170 mph with a path width of 1/4 to 1/2 miles. This path impacted areas from Mount Vernon to Dog Town in extreme southeastern DeKalb County. The tornado destroyed several single wide…

3. Apr 22, 1997Tornado$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado tracked from southwest to northeast across the center of Rainsville. The tornado began at 3:53 pm CDT three miles southwest of Rainsville just south of the intersection of County Roads 92 and 72. The tornado moved northeastward directly through the downtown section of Rainsville at the intersection of State Highways 75 and 35. Damage was severe to a number of buildings including the Rainsville police and fire department station and a number of commercial buildings. The tornado continued northeast crossing Dilbeck and Marshall Roads before ending about two miles northeast of Rainsville on the east side of Marshall Road.The tornado severely damaged a large poultry…

4. May 6, 2003Flash Flood$1.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   extensive flooding across county with 50 homes, 12 businesses and other municipalities with significant flood damage.

5. Apr 24, 2010Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The same supercell which produced the tornado in from Blount into Marshall and DeKalb Counties produced a second tornado around 11:25 PM CDT. This tornado touched down 4 miles south southwest of Mentone, near Desoto State Park. The tornado reached EF-3 intensity with speeds up to 140 mph destroying several single wide manufactured homes. The tornado also snapped and uprooted numerous large trees. Significant damage was seen along it's path to the Alabama/Georgia state line. The hardest hit areas were between CR 117 and CR 106, just to the south southeast of Mentone. The most significant damage occurred to a trailer park (Morning Glory Court) where several single wide manufactured…

6. Oct 25, 2010Tornado$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-2 tornado with peak winds up to 115 mph continued it's track from Jackson into DeKalb County producing it's worst damage near the intersection of County Road 134 and 131. At this location, a cinder-block foundation shed was completely destroyed. The tornado continued northeast lifting much of a roof and portions of a brick exterior of a home along County Roady 886. It also destroyed a 20 by 20 foot shed. As the tornado moved into the town of Ider, it destroyed the bleachers and scoreboard at the Ider High School football field. The bleachers were solid concrete and were reinforced with 1/2 inch thick rebar. Additional damage was observed along Highway 75 as the tornado…

7. Dec 20, 2007Strong Wind, Dekalb$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds knocked down trees and powerlines across the county. Particularly hard hit were Collinsville and Geraldine. The strongest wind damage occurred in the Geraldine area, where a metal carport was moved onto county road 23.

8. Jan 28, 2000Ice Storm, Dekalb$800,000
   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…

9. Apr 13, 2009High Wind, Dekalb$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds of 45 to 55 mph with higher gusts to around 65 mph downed numerous trees and powerlines across the county. Particularly hard hit were the northern portions of the county. A gust to 47 mph was recorded at the Fort Payne Airport AWOS.

10. Jan 22, 2000Ice Storm, Dekalb$500,000
    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…

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 29, 1952

All-time low

−13°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

79°FJul 24, 1952

Coldest day

2°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

6.41 inSep 17, 2004

Snowiest day

8.5 inFeb 15, 1958

Hottest year

1953mean 61.9°F

Coldest year

1976mean 55.7°F

Wettest year

201377.35 in

Driest year

200735.19 in

Snowiest season

11.0 in1959-60

Station Sand Mount Substn (USC00017207), 1,190 ft elevation, 14.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 23, 2026; 95.3% 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.

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 USC00017207.
• 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.